Final Fantasy: Infusion
by Ignotus2
Summary: COMPLETE: A person is born with one destiny. They live out their life until ultimately fulfilling it. Some call it fate. The universe has a unique fate for each and every one of us. But when realities are compressed, new fates are created and infused.
1. The Apocalypse

Final Fantasy Infusion: Final Cut  
  
Introduction: A jump into the unknown, into the inconceivable. People put so much emphasis on what is real, and what isn't, that they forget what is most important. All they can do is think of themselves, of their own miserable lives. They live day to day, only to live day to day. A very sad existence indeed, living only in moments and not for the future. But there is still time to hope, time to dream. It is never too late to open yourself up to new ideas, new possibilities. All it takes is for that person to open their minds, and to realize that anything can happen . . . anything.  
  
Chapter 1: The Apocalypse  
  
Squall winced as the sword pierced his chest. He felt the cold steel inside him, tearing through his skin, chilling his very soul. Blood was dripping down the blade that had just punctured his chest and forming a small puddle on the ground. When it was removed, he could feel years of his life escaping with each passing breath. All Squall could do was fall to his knees in pain, his body was unable to move. Cloud lay fallen, behind the freshly beaten Squall. His blueish-black armor had been fractured and split open in many places. Huge gashes and burn marks polluted his once pure body. An epic battle had taken place not too long ago and two great heroes had fallen. Sephiroth gleefully looked at his trophies. They were unable to stop him, and now he was the solitary soul left alive on the plains of newly created Esthgar. More and more landmarks were appearing during the genesis of this new world. Soon they would be completely merged and all life would be extinguished. Squall was the one chance left to save the world, and now, even he was dying.  
  
Only a month earlier the planet was bustling with life. People led boring but meaningful lives in the cities, on the ocean, and on countless farms. They had just been liberated from a terrible sorceress and life was returning to normal. Before this Armageddon took place, it was a happy world filled with life. The forests were a luscious green and lay far away from the cities, untouched by man. The lakes and oceans were crystal clear and calm, marine-life was abundant . . . the planet was full of beauty wherever you looked. Not anymore. It now lay gray, withered and dying like all of its inhabitants that had been killed by the transformation. The water became polluted, the trees rotted from the inside, and the animals turned on their own.  
  
Sephiroth looked over at Griever, the source of this destruction and death. The demi-god had junctioned the black materia to it increasing its power one hundred fold. The vile beast had the ability to rain meteors anywhere on the planet now, leaving nobody safe. In the beginning of the battle, meteors had descended like fallen angels from heaven, striking down the population without prejudice. Now only the impact craters littered the landscape, making the landscape even more of a dire scenario.  
  
"The dream of being a god is within my grasp," declared Sephiroth, "The planet is now mine to control . . ."  
  
With a sudden surge of hidden energy, Squall staggered to his feet in defiance of the despot's statement. His bloodshot eyes pulsed with anger and stared dead on into Sephiroth's eyes.  
  
"Do you actually think you can do anything with that battered body of yours?" taunted Sephiroth as he drew his Masamune across the ground and into an arc.  
  
Squall said nothing.  
  
"I will put you out of your misery with one swift strike then. Griever, MeteorStorm!" Sephiroth twisted around and ordered the rabid beast. The monster did not move to heed its master's call. Instead, it was frozen with fear at what it saw.  
  
Behind Sephiroth's back, Squall's eyes began to flicker aqua blue. His whole body was tense and shaking and an aura of green and blue could be seen pulsating around him. Squall then released a scream that was more terrifying than Griever's and the aura turned into green and blue flame. Even his eyes gave off a new glow, and to top it off, his hair turned golden yellow. It shot out behind him and flowed wildly as though there was a harsh wind ripping across the battlefield.  
  
"M, Ma, Mako? But Clo-" as Sephiroth stepped backwards in disbelief, he quickly glanced over and saw that Cloud's body had vanished into thin air.  
  
Squall and Cloud had transformed into the ultimate hero, containing both the powers of each one and none of their weaknesses. His body mass had almost doubled in size and his powers had tripled. The hero bent over and picked up the Ultima sword from the ground where it had been stuck. He brought it close to the Lionheart which he still held in his hand, and both swords started to glow. The metals became excited and shone just as brilliantly as the hero. With a flash of light, it became the Heimdall, a sword forged in the Fire Caverns and cooled in the recesses of the Northern Crater. He was ready. The ultimate hero now set his sights on Griever. He calmly raised the sword in front of him between his eyes and said, "Fated Hearts".  
  
A neon blue aura sprung out of the ground around the hero like a geyser and enveloped him totally. He dashed through the life giving liquid and suddenly disappeared, then reappeared in front of Griever in less than a second. Without mercy he started slashing at the monster as hard as he could. Five times, Ten times, Twenty times . . . it just didn't seem to stop. Each blow was delivered to a different part on his foe's body, having a cumulative weakening effect on Griever. The Heimdall started began to glow white-hot from the friction it caused in the air. Thirty times, Forty times . . . Body parts were flying as the sword whistled through the air, Griever's body could no longer take the punishment. With one last finishing blow, a beam of pure energy shot out of the Heimdall high into the air above. It parted the sky as it burst through the clouds and then came back down with a destructive force. It tore through the monster and divided it in two. With that, Griever was no more, just a pile of heated flesh scattered here and there on the ground. The time for revenge was near.  
  
"Are you ready Sephiroth?" The hero announced. His voice seemed to echo as though both heroes were talking in unison.  
  
"If you mean death, then yes. I have always welcomed death. But you must know that I won't go easily, I will only grow stronger in death. My body will reconstruct itself, and we'll do this little dance all over again," Sephiroth claimed.  
  
An eerie silence swept over the battlefield. Only the faint presence of the wind could be heard filling the void between the battlers. The hero stood his ground and held his sword to his right. He waited for Sephiroth to make the first move.  
  
"I didn't think I'd have to use this but given the current circumstances, it seems like I have no other choice. Let us give my new summon a try. But just remember, you brought this on yourself," Sephiroth raised his hands over his head and spread his feet apart. He needed all his power to summon his next surprise. The materia that held it floated out of Sephiroth's grip and situated itself a hundred feet above. After a few seconds of chanting something in the tongue of the ancients, he finally screamed, "Lunatic Weapon arise!"  
  
The ground began to rumble and the hero felt a sudden charge build up in the atmosphere. Lightning was striking the ground near him with increasing frequency and was forcing him to avoid the craters being created by each impact. There was a bright flash in the air from the summon materia that temporarily stunned the hero and caused him to shield his eyes. When he managed to open them again, he jumped back in disgust.  
  
The Lunatic Weapon was a heaving mass of monsters, all rolled into one. When the hero got use to the light around him again, he saw that it was not only monsters, but a conglomeration of all the Guardian forces, Weapons, and summons combined. They writhed in pain having to be connected to each other. It was torturous just to watch them wriggle and move around along the surface of this new abomination. Some beasts couldn't take their predicament and were attacking others close to it. Blood and fluids would occasionally spray out from the Lunatic Weapon, but if a monster died, it was just absorbed into the stronger ones. It was as if Sephiroth controlled the entire planet and its lifeforces. There was no doubt that this thing would do his bidding.  
  
"Are you ready Squall? Or should I call you Cloud?" Sephiroth retorted, twisting his head to one side. "I'm confused, what do you want to be called?"  
  
"Some have called me justice. Some have called me honor. Others have known me as vengeance. But you . . . you will call me, Xanien."  
  
"Very well then, Lunatic Weapon . . . Luna Nova!" Sephiroth started to laugh hysterically after he yelled the name of the attack. The Weapon was reacting to his command and each animal roared out in pain. Their skin melted off to leave only their muscles showing, and then it disappeared back into its materia.  
  
"Shut up you maniac!" Xanien yelled. Obviously, he didn't know what had just happened.  
  
"You won't live through this. I'll make sure you don't." Sephiroth pointed to the sky jokingly as though he were mocking the dead Rinoa. He continued to laugh very hard, his head tilted back so that he could enjoy every heave of his chest.  
  
Xanien's pure mako blood started to boil. How dare Sephiroth treat him like some bully. He was about to run toward Sephiroth, but stopped mid-step because he realized what was meant by the tyrant's taunt. "Oh my god . . ." Xanien looked up to see the moon barreling towards the planet. Chunks of its surface were tearing off as it entered the atmosphere, but the majority of its mass would still hit. It was approaching at a horrible speed and ate up more of the sky with every passing second. Xanien would not survive, and neither could the planet. He was so angry at himself to let this happen. How did he lose track of what was important and let this happen? "Damn it," Xanien hung his head in failure and didn't bother to watch the apocalypse.  
  
The moon hit the planet about 2000 miles away from where the fight had been and achieved the desired results. Xanien looked up and could see a shockwave carrying everything on the planet from water to rock towards him. It was a horrible tsunami that just kept enlarging. Fissures were already reaching the ground below his body and had begun to vent magma and Lifestream through the cracks. It didn't matter to him, and soon nothing would matter. The shockwave was traveling a few thousand miles per hour and completely darkened the world.  
  
Sephiroth was still laughing.  
  
'So this is the end,' Cloud and Squall thought, looking at the crest of the forty mile tall shockwave right above his head. Xanien closed his eyes and awaited the impact, 'any second now.' 


	2. The End?

Chapter 2: The End?  
  
Common sense kicked in as the wall bore down on Xanien and he hurriedly cast Big Guard. The wave of rocks was getting dangerously close, but the magical wall could be seen in pink and yellow as it built up around the hero. He knew that wouldn't be enough, so he followed up with Shield. A huge, green blast shield surrounded Xanien in a force field and looked sturdy enough to ward off any type of damage. But just for good measure, Xanien cast a Wall on the outside of his first spell. The man now looked like a miniature planet himself, his body being at the core of the multilayered environment he had created. There was a slim hope that all this protection would shrug off the mountain of earth and energy careening towards him, but that hope was soon squashed. It was all done in vain . . .  
  
The first shockwave hit Xanien with a force stronger than a hundred Supernovas combined. The blast whipped around him in all directions, eating away at the surface of the planet and leaving Xanien standing on nothing more than a sinking island of rock. He stood his ground for as long as he could hold out, but eventually the continuing shockwaves and loosened his stance on the ground and he gave up, letting it overtake his body. Millions of rocks slammed into his barriers with incredible power. Xanien might have been the strongest person in the universe, but he wasn't invulnerable. He watched with increasing anxiety as smaller rocks tore though his Big Guard, leaving good sized holes in it. Anything that got through would be absorbed harmlessly into the Wall spell, but it was still unsettling. It just wouldn't stop coming . . .  
  
Another barrage of earth and the moon swept over Xanien, and all he could do was take it. Bigger chunks of the planet were hitting him now, and with each shock his Wall wore thinner and thinner. It began flickering, fading ever so slightly with each passing second. An object flying well over the speed of sound pierced the Wall and left a gaping void in it. That was all it could take and the spell faltered soon after, shattering like glass. It was very evident at this point that Xanien most likely wasn't going to live through this. A mountainous boulder rolling along the landscape with the waves of destruction put those fears to rest. It closed in on the hero and dwarfed anything they had ever seen before, gaining speed the farther it went.  
  
It hit him so hard that it split Xanien back into Cloud and Squall. As the reeled from the impact, another shockwave shattered the Shield around the heroes and carried them off the surface of the planet and through the air. The pain they now felt was excruciating. Even with their armor and skills, it hurt like hell to pass through what was left of the atmosphere. Gravity still had something of a hold on them, causing friction on their backs constantly. Above them pieces of the earth were burning out, but their pain seemed to be wearing off. What pained them even more was the fact that Sephiroth's hysterical laugh could still be heard above everything else. Squall and Cloud cast Reflect as a final resort, but they could still feel the intense heat. As their last lines of defense were draining away, Sephiroth's laugh stopped. Was he dead? Had he killed himself to destroy them? Squall and Cloud would never know.  
  
They could hear it now. It was a deafening roar of the planet screaming in pain. In a couple seconds its pain would be over, for the planet was disintegrating all around the heroes. Its death thralls were horrendous, indescribable with words alone. It was so sad . . . so alone. It would die without being mourned by anybody.  
  
Their Reflects were almost depleted. Cloud felt dejected as the impact wave carried him and Squall along its predetermined path. He felt awful and woeful that he would never be able to fulfill what he had wished so much for. He was going to propose to Tifa in hopes that he might finally be happy, but most importantly, he was going to find a way to finally say goodbye to Aeris. He was going to find the Promised Land so he could say goodbye to her physical self, and to the memories of her. Squall had no such ideals, but this all hurt him the same.  
  
Suddenly, there was silence all around. The heroes had been launched into space and were floating helplessly. Cloud and Squall were floating closer and closer to oblivion with each loathsome second. The world was gone, and their air was exhausted.  
  
Squall desperately squirmed to get back to the planet, waving his arms wildly, but gave up as he saw that it wasn't there anymore. It was completely destroyed. Whatever was left of it was now floating past them into the far reaches of the infinite void. This only served to intensify his feeling of loneliness. He was alone, alone to drift endlessly into the empty abyss that was outer space. He screamed out in agony because of his failure.  
  
"NNNNNOOOOOooooooo . . ."  
  
An even greater silence surrounded Cloud now.  
  
Squall had expelled his last breath of air. Cloud looked over and saw his body go limp, stuck in a slow rotation going backwards. Cloud had never prepared for this type of event. Who would have thought he'd be the last human alive, lasting longer than all others on the planet. He grabbed a rock of the planet that was floating by him. A small ounce of Lifestream clung to it and still held its green glow. It caused him to smile knowing that life would continue on somewhere as long as that stuff existed. The smile turned to a frown as the glow subsided and the rock became as lifeless as Squall. Cloud could feel his lungs burning as they tried desperately to breathe in air, but he knew better. He was doing best to deny his body that breath, because it would kill him. Cloud ran out of air after that. He gave up, and with his remaining strength he murmured,  
  
"We've failed . . ."  
  
The world's last hopes were gone.  
  
Evil had triumphed. 


	3. Survivors

Chapter 3: Survivors  
  
In the darkness something stirs. In this blackness a small glimmer of hope disturbs the total silence and creates chaos. A wish had been answered.  
  
'Cloud . . . Cloud wake up!'  
  
"This is no time for games, Cloud wake up!" Squall screamed into his counterpart's ear. Cloud raised his head sat up with a jolt.  
  
"Was it a dream?" Cloud replied as he rubbed his ear. His head was still ringing from his friend's powerful bellow.  
  
"I'm afraid not," Squall said, "Look ahead of you." Cloud slowly turned his head to match Squall's view. It took him a while, but soon his eyes adjusted to the blinding whiteness of their surroundings.  
  
"You didn't have to yell you know. A simple nudge would have done the job," Cloud complained to Squall as he continued to blink his eyes, "What is it that I'm looking at?"  
  
"Look closer. From here it looks like stairs," Squall surmised, "God . . . this is so messed up. What the hell is going to happen to us?" He was noticeably beginning to lose his composure.  
  
Cloud shrugged, finally seeing what Squall saw. " I don't know, but I guess our only choice is up. There is nothing else here for us but those."  
  
Cloud hadn't noticed before, but now that his eyes had fully adjusted, he tried to take in what was worrying Squall so much. Somehow, both of them were standing on a solid surface but yet there was no definition as to where the ground started and where it ended. They existed, but without an environment that acknowledged they did. There was no wind to speak of, no sun, and no colors of any sort. You could say the place wasn't white at all, but the fighters brain's couldn't discern one thing from the next and had to create something for them to see and this was what it came up with. It was dead, but at the same time breathing life all around them.  
  
It was a complex paradox to Cloud and he didn't want to think about it now. They could look around, trying to find clues about where they were, but neither wanted to wander around aimlessly. It was disquieting to Cloud and Squall, but they couldn't stand around forever so their only choice was to trek up the stairs.  
  
A few minutes had passed since Cloud had regained consciousness, but it was enough time to think. Who knew how long they had been out? Without giving it much thought other than to break the ice, Cloud blurted out, "This is Heaven right?"  
  
"I'm pretty sure it's not. Heaven is supposed to have angels and pearly gates. If this was Heaven, I sure wouldn't want to be here for all eternity with you." Squall barely knew this person he had fought alongside with. This Cloud character was just another stranger to him. They had both just been flung into the fray against Sephiroth without much knowledge of what was going on. The maniac had just begun killing their friends and they had no choice but to fight back with what they had, "Doesn't Alexander the holy summon greet those when they arrive to pass Final Judgment on their souls? Don't get me wrong though, it's not Hell either, for obvious reasons." Squall coldly answered, "Cloud . . . I think we're in some sort of purgatory."  
  
Cloud didn't want to agree with him, he didn't want to be here, but he nodded in agreement and they continued to trudge up the stairway. Step after step, minute after minute they walked for what seemed like an eternity. They didn't know if it would ever end, and it showed no sign of topping out. Cloud didn't want to walk forever next to a cold, self loathing person he barely knew, so he tried to start a conversation to get to know his new friend better. Cloud had always been a bit awkward when it came to personal feelings though and the topic he chose was inappropriate after what they had just gone through.  
  
"Squall, how did you feel when Rinoa was killed by Sephiroth?" Cloud asked casually.  
  
Squall glared at Cloud disgustedly. A fire burned in his eyes and his blood temperature rose, "How dare you talk about that. You don't even deserve to say her name" Squall was deeply injured by this sudden inquiry, and he could feel a phantom pain from where he had been stabbed. He looked down and saw it completely healed, gone without a trace. The two just stood motionless, staring at each other. Squall showed his contempt for the ignorant man, but Cloud was hurt too by the events that had preceded this long walk. Squall saw the deeply sympathetic look of Cloud and decided to lighten up a little, "I don't let people know about my personal life," he replied emotionlessly. It was so fresh in his mind though that it was hard for him to hold back a tear. The thought of seeing Rinoa again, dying in his arms and not being able to do anything for her tore him apart. He shook his head and turned away from Cloud. He couldn't show him any weakness. It wasn't in his character to do so. They both stopped for a moment and sat on the stairs. Cloud moved in to pat him on the back as a friendly gesture but Squall swatted his arm away, "Get away from me. I don't need any consolation from a dead guy," Squall snapped.  
  
He looked over at Cloud and saw the same compassionate look in his eyes. He hadn't given any thought to what Cloud had gone through before he had arrived, so maybe he should give him a chance. He was dead anyways so it didn't matter what people thought of him now. Squall collected himself and started to explain everything to this stranger that actually cared.  
  
"I . . . I felt dead," He chuckled, trying to play off his real feelings, "I still do. She took all the love, all the happiness away with from me when she stopped breathing. You can't begin to feel the way I do now. It's unbearable. I've lost her before, but not like this. In the end we always got back together. This . . . this just isn't fair. I feel sad, but it's an emotion deeper than sadness. Anger and loneliness are all I have left in my soul. My heart is as empty as this white Hell we are in." Squall said, despising his current position.  
  
"I can relate, " Cloud revealed solemnly to Squall, "I've had something happen to someone meaningful too. Something does die in you. You think that everything in the world has been taken from you, but you are always left with their memory. Even if you don't want to, you always think about them. It only serves to drive the pain deeper into your soul. It pushes everything else out of you, and after a while you are left with endless emptiness, an emptiness that begs to be filled. But you don't fill it with their joy of life of how they happy they lived while you were together . . . oh no, you fill your heart with sorrow and hate because they had to leave you."  
  
Cloud couldn't believe what he had just said. He didn't mess it up, he didn't underplay the situation, and he sounded as though he had finally come to cope with Aeris' death. It had only been a few weeks ago and getting back into a normal routine had proven to be tough. Had it been that easy all this time? Did he just need address how he felt about it? After Cloud said this they both became quiet and dwelled on their thoughts.  
  
With a clear mind, Cloud's thoughts shifted to Tifa. Was she alright? During the intense battle, everything that happened seemed to be a blur. He didn't know if she had survived the initial attack, but he was sure that the shockwave had got her. He could only pray that she would meet up with him again in eternity. Squall didn't have the luxury of wishful thinking. He had to watch as his comrades were picked off one by one. He knew of their fate and wanted to feel for them, but the Rinoa issue seemed to be much more important to him than anything else. Squall was in a dreamlike trance when he heard her voice.  
  
'Don't give up . . .'  
  
At the same time, a second voice echoed inside Cloud's mind.  
  
'There is always hope. Don't forget that . . .'  
  
Squall's head jerked up, "Did you say something?" Squall asked, "It sounded like Rinoa's voice. You better not be messing around with me or so help . . ."  
  
"Whoa, WHOA! I heard something too. But I heard Tifa's voice," Cloud contested, pleading his innocence.  
  
"We're not alone here then," Squall informed Cloud as he took a harder look around where they were.  
  
The silence was broken by a commanding yet soft voice that surrounded them from all sides, "Cloud Strife and Squall Leonhart," it said.  
  
"Yes that's us," Cloud anxiously replied. He was both bewildered and amazed, jerking his head around trying to find where the voice came from.  
  
"You both fought bravely to save your own worlds when their fates were placed in your hands. You succeeded, but nothing could have prepared for what was to happen next. I'm sorry that it had to happen, and that it cost you your lives when you tried to save the planet," the voice empathized.  
  
"Hold on," Cloud interrupted, "What do you mean by worlds?"  
  
"Cloud, you fought on an infused world," it explained, "It was both your world and Squall's at the same time. It's hard to explain with mere words, so please, come towards my voice and let me show you two what happened."  
  
They moved towards the angelic voice and two clouds of mist hovered in front of the heroes. Pieces of the clouds broke off and trailed separately over the mist, shaping and solidifying each one until they formed lifeless spheres resembling planets. There was a cracking in the surface of these planets and a few seconds they witnessed the birth of mountains rising and falling into majestic landscapes. Not too soon after, vast oceans and their great tributaries were filled to the brim with water. Endless green forests came next, springing up through the ground first as sapling and then growing into proud and mighty trees. As the sea of green kept covering each globe, the sign of the first cities emerged.  
  
One showed a mighty city built on futuristic technology and surrounded by a shield, while the other showcased a huge city bordering an ocean and a destroyed megalopolis. At the end of the formation it was clear to both of the men that one world was Cloud's and the other Squall's, "The first is your world Cloud," the voice continued, "You are seeing it just as Holy and the Lifestream shattered and destroyed the last threat of the Meteor. You've probably guessed that the other world is Squall's, and you are right. It is hard to notice any change at this point, but this is the planet right after Ultimecia's death. She had managed to pass her powers onto Edea and Time compression should have never took place. Or so it seemed. Look closer at the areas where each event took place. Instead of opening a portal in time, it opened a dimensional rip. Some incredible force that not even I can comprehend at this time pulled your two worlds together. It compressed your worlds into one, and in doing so it also revived your enemies."  
  
"Wow" Cloud uttered in disbelief, placing his hand behind his head, "This really is too much."  
  
Squall didn't like what he saw, "How could we have possibly stopped it?" he said, challenging this fate that was given to him.  
  
"You couldn't . . . at the time," the voice answered.  
  
"So there is a way to stop it then?" Squall concluded.  
  
He felt someone's warm breath flow over the back of his neck and then a familiar reassuring "Sure is" comforted Squall's right ear. 


	4. The Plan

Chapter 4: The Plan  
  
"Rinoa?" Squall whispered breathlessly. He saw the same auburn haired, fair skinned Rinoa that he had always been used to seeing in his dreams. Squall hoped this wasn't all a dream. In the instant he looked over his shoulder, every troublesome thought was lifted off his soul and everything once again felt whole. His emotion suddenly got the better of him and he rushed to her side, "I thought I had lost you!" Squall whimpered into her ear as he embraced her tightly. Not letting her out of his grasp he gave her a soft kiss on the cheek and ran his hand through her hair, "Is it really you?"  
  
Rinoa was surprised at the sudden burst of emotion. They had traveled to the ends of time and back, lost each other twice during the journey, and at one time they had almost died, but all that time Squall expressed not even the slightest of emotions. It had taken her so long to open him up, and he does it after this? A puzzled look crossed her brow. Rinoa tried to hide it from and squeezed Squall just as tight. She had always wanted this type of attention from him and didn't care how she got it . . . even if this crisis had brought it out of him.  
  
"Yes it is," Tifa answered for Rinoa, seeing that she was one second from being smothered. She came up from behind Cloud and put her arms around his waist, "I missed you Cloud."  
  
"You're here too!" Cloud exclaimed with as all the muscles in his face worked to create the biggest smile ever seen. He turned around and grabbed Tifa by the waist, raising her up into the air. He then brought her down gave her a big hug, "I missed you . . . I thought you guys were gone for good after what I saw happen. It was like back at Nibelheim, I didn't know what to do." Cloud's smile disappeared as he thought of what it might have been like if he had lost her forever.  
  
"What you fussin' about foo?" Barret shouted in his usual gruff voice as he knocked him lightly on the head with his gun arm, "There ain't nothin to worry about as long we all stick together." Barret continued to banter on as he walked past Cloud.  
  
'We?' Cloud thought as he blocked out whatever Barret was saying.  
  
"Who do we have to thank to get out of here? I'm getting really tired of waiting around this damn place and I need a cigarette," Cid yelled out as he appeared from behind Cloud, toting his spear the Venus Gospel over his right shoulder, "How ya doin champ?"  
  
"I . . . don't believe it, you're all here!" Cloud said as he turned around and saw Nanaki, Vincent, and Yuffie talking to each other not to far away. The excitement of seeing them all alive again was almost too much for Cloud and he felt tears beginning to brim around his eyes. His emotions were about to run over but he restrained himself. There would be time for celebration later.  
  
"We thought that we had lost everyone . . ." Squall continued to say in a soft voice as he lowered his head, "We thought we had let everyone down . . ."  
  
Rinoa took his chin and lifted it up, "Don't worry, everything will be fine now," she reassured him. Out of the white background more people began to appear. Quistis and Selphie had no problems coping with their materialization, but when Zell and Irvine found out that they still lived, they almost freaked.  
  
"What's going on here?" Zell yelled out, just as hyper as ever. He twisted his head around and looked all over himself to make sure that everything was okay. He looked over and pinched Irvine in the shoulder.  
  
"What did you do that for?" Irvine snapped, rubbing his arm.  
  
"You mean . . . we're alive? Whoopee!" Zell responded, pumping his fist in the air triumphantly.  
  
The brief reunion of friends continued for a few minutes as Zell and the others adapted themselves to the current situation. Both Cloud and Squall began to introduce each of their friends to the other, "Cloud these are my friends. Tifa, this is . . ."  
  
"Most of us have met," Quistis informed Squall, a smirk of content crossed her face, "We had plenty of time to talk when you two guys fought Sephiroth. We all came here at different times though, but that voice has brought us up to date on the situation too," The former SeeD instructor met with the few others she hadn't yet talked to while Nanaki continued to debrief those that had just arrived.  
  
"We've had lots of time to think as we watched and most of us agree that there is a way to stop this from happening again. Here's the plan," Nanaki stated.  
  
"Wait, where is Reeve?" Cloud asked as he searched for his other friend.  
  
"The one known as Cait Sith could not make the transition to this place. Alone the robot did nothing, and by himself I don't think the man could have survived the transition. You now hold his fate in your hands," the voice spoke again, still as benevolently and omniscient as before, "All of you will be given a second chance to right the wrongs that have been inflicted on your worlds. As Nanaki was saying, a plan has been resolved. You will split into two groups from here on out to tackle this difficult mission. Cloud, it has been decided that you and your friends will be one team. Squall Leonhart, you and your friends will be the other," the two leaders shook their heads in agreement and the mysterious entity continued, "The plan is simple. You will both begin these tasks at the same time and hopefully reach the end of each instantaneously. Cloud's team will infiltrate the Lunatic Pandora to confront and destroy Adel before Time Compression takes place," another wall of mist appeared in front of Cloud, Tifa and the others and showed a detailed map of the Dark Monolith from inside to outside. A pink arrow began at the insertion point where the Spaceship known as the Ragnarok first broke through the hull of the Pandora. It then slowly worked its way around many paths and up many elevators before coming to a stop in front of two massive metallic doors, "In theory, if you can stop the Sorceress Adel from attaining either Ellone or the Rinoa of that time from melding, none of this will ever happen and you'll all go back to where you came from."  
  
"Without Adel, what will stop Ultimecia from finding someone else's body to use as a vessel?" Squall pointed out, wondering if this voice actually had all the facts before creating this seemingly impossible plan.  
  
"That is where you come in Squall. I will be sending your group into the future to confront her. The goal there is to eliminate Ultimecia and prevent her from passing her powers onto another host. It is very important that you do this before Cloud kills Adel, or she will send her powers across the bends of time to the other sorceress. If that happens, it will create a time loop and we will have to do the entire thing over again. I have the ability to send you through time and bring you back if something bad occurs, but only once," the voice explained.  
  
"So it's a one shot deal?" Irvine asked with a cocky grin, "You know I won't let you down then."  
  
"That's the attitude Irvy! Booyaka!" Selphie added in as she ran over to hug the handsome sharpshooter.  
  
"Knock it off guys, keep your mind on the mission," Squall butted in, returning to his usual cold self.  
  
"He's right. Don't worry about anything but completing your mission now. I wish you the best of luck."  
  
"Let's do it!" Zell screamed.  
  
"Yeah, let's do it," Tifa nodded as she punched her fist into her other hand.  
  
"Let's take a little break first please!" Yuffie objected. She had always been the lazy one, but not being able to get any rest for the past two days did quite a number on her.  
  
Seeing her and the other's lagging behavior, Cloud decided to go along with the consensus, "I guess we should. My neck is hurting me a little bit," he added.  
  
"Anybody would have got whiplash from a hit like that!" Selphie snickered from out of the blue.  
  
Rinoa saw Squall rubbing his own neck and went behind him to massage his neck without being asked.  
  
"How do you know what I'm talking about? Are you saying you guys were could watch the whole thing too? How?" Cloud said with a questionable look on his face.  
  
"Yeah, right over there," Yuffie told Cloud as she yawned and pointed to another screen off in the distance. The screen looked to work just like the surface map of the Lunatic Pandora but instead showed the events of the day in a constant loop.  
  
Tifa grabbed Cloud's hand and walked him over to where a small waterfall trickled over an invisible cliff. With a closer inspection, he saw that it was actually a projection of light reflected onto the water. Everything that had transcended a few hours earlier was unfolding before their eyes again and again. Yuffie had seen it enough for a lifetime and was already sound-asleep on the cloudy ground. Cloud found it hard to watch the beginning of the fight when Sephiroth had killed all his friends. It all came unexpectedly and they had no way to protect against it. He cringed as each one fell to Sephiroth. It was painful to watch a second time, even though they all went down with a fight. Each of his freshly healed wounds seemed to reopen and hurt twice as much and Cloud keeled over in pain.  
  
"Oh my god! Cloud are you okay?" Tifa cried as she grabbed his arm and tried to get him back on his feet. The screen flashed off and on and changed its picture when Squall walked over holding hands with Rinoa. He too watched the same thing happen over and over again with his own friends. It seemed to affect him in much the same way it had affected Cloud. Eventually they were able to stand upright again, and they saw the ultimate warrior, Xanien, form from their defeat. It fast-forwarded with a flash of light as the moon's impact destroyed the sky and soon after the water turned pitch black. It showed that darkness was all that could exist after that. The fight was over. Cloud seemed to still be worried, doubtful that this plan could work and showed it with his distraught facial gestures.  
  
"Cloud, we'll be ready for him next time." Squall confided to him. Cloud only clenched his fists to respond.  
  
"I won't let him do this again. This will be our only chance to make things right." Cloud stated in a defiant tone.  
  
"We can do it," Vincent said as he spoke up for the first time. The others might not have remembered what happened to them during all the chaos, but it was vivid in Vincent's mind. There were a few clicks of his rifle as he locked rounds of ammo into place. Hopefully his Death Penalty would make a difference this time and not go unused. After he said that, the brightness of purgatory seemed to dim, and they took it as a sign to get some rest. Tomorrow would be a big day for all of mankind. 


	5. Anomalies

Chapter 5: Anomalies  
  
In limbo, time didn't pass, but it flowed from moment to moment. Depending on how you had lived, each moment could be an eternity or a fraction of a second. As long as Squall and the other remained here, time would be forever on their side . . . but time waits for no one. Time could pass them all up, and then they would be trapped. This is why it was so important that the operation be a success. Failure meant an eternity of nothing.  
  
A warm, refreshing mist rose from the ground and covered those who had slept. One breath of it revitalized and awoke the sleeping warriors. Stretching their tired muscles and yawning, everybody began to make arrangements for the mission. The next day had come and the time for redemption was near. There was no need for breakfast, no need for showers . . . it was go time.  
  
The small army gathered their items, weapons, and armor and trudged their way along a flat luminescent path. They were all decked out in their best battle garb. To an outsider they might have looked like mercenaries, but in reality it was the grandest collection of magic and power the universe had ever seen. For the most part, the heroes walked in small groups to the meeting point that had been decided on the night before, talking about past experiences and battles. Over the last couple hours, Quistis, Irvine and Zell had gotten to know Barret, Cid and Nanaki very well. Both could fully grasp the beauty of each other's separate worlds, and their individual importance. It wasn't just their world they'd be fighting for . . . it would be for all worlds.  
  
Lagging behind his friends, Cloud attempted once more to get on good terms with his new friend, "Hey Squall," he said in a low profile voice, not wanting to get the attention of the others, "is there anything I should know about this place we are going? Anything that might prepare us for what we are going up against?"  
  
"Weren't you paying attention to the voice's instructions yesterday?" Squall snapped. He continued to hold a vengeance for no apparent reason other than to keep up his harsh exterior. He was about to meet up with his group but turned around at the last second to walk back towards Cloud.  
  
"Yeah, but -"  
  
"Okay, there is some other stuff you should know," Squall said as he stepped in front of the spiky haired soldier. The brown haired SeeD commander seemed to crowd Cloud as they met eye to eye. His style and stance was more rigid and military than his counterpart's (who had picked up a more relaxed, sloppy stance over the last few months) and it showed. For a brief instant he felt superior to the person who was supposed to be his equal from another world, but that feeling soon passed when battle hardened hero reasserted himself and squared his shoulders to Squall's, "The voice said to stop Adel from passing her powers, right? Well you can prevent this all by telling me . . . I mean my other self to leave. There will be some resistance as well," it was still fresh as though it had been yesterday and Squall began to tense up. The scar trailing from above his nose to the top of his right eye seemed to become more noticeable as he thought about it. It caused him to get serious about the remainder of his briefing, "Cloud, it is imperative you free my sis, Ellone. She was kidnapped by Fujin and Raijin when we were there, and Seifer, another friend of ours, was under control of Adel and supervising the whole thing. They should be pushovers, but make sure Ellone isn't harmed . . . okay?" Squall had grabbed Cloud's arm and now squeezed it hard enough to cut off the circulation.  
  
"Okay! I get it!" Cloud shouted as he took Squall's hand off his arm.  
  
Squall said nothing and walked back to his group awaiting the next step in his journey. Cloud did the same and was approached by Tifa who had been watching them from afar, "What was all that about?" She asked.  
  
"Nothing, he was just wishing us good luck," Cloud lied.  
  
"Okay . . . " Tifa shrugged it off, "you sure everything is okay?"  
  
"Yeah, let's get ready to go!" Cloud smiled as he stretched his arm behind his head. Tifa placed her hands on her hips and smiled back. Cloud did a few squats and twisted his back to make sure all the cricks were out of it. Seeing the urgency in Squall's eyes reminded him . . . of her. Cloud would stop at nothing to keep something that painful from happening to somebody else, even if it meant his own life.  
  
No sooner were they all fully assembled did the voice speak in an ancient language that echoed all around them. It was gibberish to everyone but Cloud. He couldn't decipher the meaning of what was said but he could feel what it was doing. The voice had spoke in the language of the Ancients, and the powers it used seemed to have been derived from the Lifestream of his planet. As the weird feeling of déjà vu swept over Cloud, he looked over to Red and saw that he too felt that something was going on.  
  
"Cloud . . ."  
  
"I know," Cloud cut him off.  
  
"Do you think?" Nanaki half asked his friend, "Is it possible?"  
  
"I don't know . . ." Cloud answered. As his thoughts dwelled, two massive marble arches shot out of the ground. They left pieces of white granite in their wake and dust falling in the air. The portals towered over everyone, and if their size wasn't intimidating enough, strange particles shot back and forth within the door.  
  
One of the gateways glowed brilliantly with a pastel blue hue that changed randomly to a hot pink and then back again. A faint, blurry image could be seen through the haze and it was revealed to be the gate to the Lunatic Pandora. The other archway had more of a red-violet/dark purple glow to it. If the other was the Lunatic Pandora, then it had to be the doorway into Ultimecia's time and dimension. The portal defied all logic as it reached through to a distant future where the infallible sorceress reigned supreme with nobody to stand in her way.  
  
Irvine was frozen in place, a nervous grin across his face, "Are we really going to do this?" He asked to his comrades waiting behind him.  
  
"Of Course," Squall replied with a stern look, "it has to be done."  
  
"Well then, being the chivalrous man I am . . . Ladies first!" Irvine chuckled, using his arms to gesture towards the women. Quistis huffed in disgust at Irvine. To spite him, she took the lead and walked in front of him, ready to jump into the unknown.  
  
"Wait . . . " Squall said, stopping his former instructor in her tracks. He slowly clasped his hand around Rinoa's, "We'll all go together."  
  
About fifty feet away, Cloud's group was in pretty much the same situation. Each group was waiting to see who would make the first move, to see who would test this magic to see if what the all powerful entity said was true.  
  
Cloud walked cautiously towards the first gate, his footsteps causing the liquid vortex to ripple. How could something so unstable and thin possibly be safe? Cloud had no idea what was going through his mind but he reached his hand through it and pulled it back out. It felt cold and wet as he retracted it from the unknown substance. Still intrigued, he put his hand into the liquid again and let it feverishly map the uncharted territory on the other side. Cloud moved closer still until he stood mere inches away from the dimensional rip. He could see himself standing on the other side . . . or at least a reflection of himself.  
  
He began to think, to look within himself. Cloud looked into his inner conscious, and he looked weak. He had let everyone down too many times. How had they gotten so far by his leadership? Too many mistakes . . . too many disappointments. When were they going to stop trusting him and rely on their better judgment? Perhaps this would be the moment where he would show them true courage. A leap of faith, a moment of bravery . . . in that moment, he stepped forward.  
  
A deep, bone-chilling cold crept over his rather warm body and sent him into shock. This feeling did not agree with his anatomy and Cloud closed his eyes to try and ward off the sharp, blinding freeze. As the trip continued, he felt his body being tugged and twisted by a great force that it couldn't resist. He closed his mouth and held his breath when it started to get rough. Cloud was about to succumb to the freeze but instead opened his eyes. He took in a deep breath and landed hard on a smooth obsidian floor. There was a throbbing pain in his legs from the impact, but the chill was gone and Cloud found himself inside of a huge metallic room. The ceiling seemed to be boundless, not even marked by clouds. He looked around to get his bearings and felt insignificant as he noticed how far away each wall was from the other. Was it true that this had been made by man millennia ago? Squall's story seemed to have holes in it already. How could man have made something this big?  
  
Barret, Red, Yuffie, Tifa, Cid, and Vincent all appeared in unison from the mysterious time warp that was now dissipating behind Cloud.  
  
"That was cool!" Yuffie shouted as she shook the coldness away by rubbing her arms.  
  
The others also showed their discomfort with the transition, but not as vocally as the "ninja" had. Nanaki shook his fur trying to shake it off, Tifa warmed her arms, and Cid lit up another cigarette. After a minute of warming up, it was time to move on.  
  
"Let's hurry up and get this over with," Vincent said without a hint of emotion. He had been disturbed by what had taken place and wasn't looking forward to what WAS going to happen. The Lunatic Pandora even made him feel uncomfortable. The group pressed on towards Adel's room with utmost haste. They had no time to lose, all would be lost if they did not succeed.  
  
Ultimecia's Castle  
  
After Cloud had taken the first steps with his team, Squall had followed suit with his own group into the unknown. The scene played out almost exactly the same as Cloud's, except when they came out of the time-hole, their setting was all too familiar. The murky steps of Ultimecia's castle seemed to tell all that had no confidence to turn back at once. Even the usually cheery Selphie found no reason rejoice from the insane thrill ride she had just traveled on. The dark, foreboding sky lit up with lightning every couple seconds or so and outlined the menacing terrace that surround the witch on each side.  
  
"I wish we didn't have to go through the castle again," Rinoa said, sounding worried. As strong as they all were now, she knew that a trip through there was no walk in the park. There were some very nasty monsters lying in wait, trying to ambush them. The fact there was a time restraint didn't help too much either.  
  
"Yeah," Squall responded, "me too. But it's the only way. We didn't go through all that training for nothing now, did we?" he tried to joke. Seeing everybody's serious expression put Squall right back into leader mode, "We'll be splitting into two groups to get done faster. Stay together, fight hard, and above all else . . . watch each others backs. We'll rendezvous in front of Ultimecia's door as soon as we get through, understood?" Everybody nodded.  
  
"Don't sweat it Squall, we'll get done on time. I drew a few Apocalypse spells from Ultimecia when we fought her last. All you guys have to do is get me close to her and I'll take care of the rest." Irvine confided as he planted his lone-barreled Exeter over his shoulder. They all knew there would be difficult battles ahead and that they would have to fight just as hard as last time. Squall knew they could handle themselves and get through this, but what scared him was what would happen if they failed their task. Without hesitation, Squall journeyed up the heavily trodden stone steps and kicked down the door.  
  
Lunatic Pandora  
  
Cloud's group was slowly making their way to the destination that Squall had told them about the night before. It wasn't too easy considering the shear size of the place. The monsters weren't proving to be too difficult, which was a relief, but their progress continued to be hindered by dead ends and wrong turns. Cloud, Red, and Vincent had to memorize the map in a few hours and it had to be done in parts as well in order to not forget any important detail. Their communication skills were severely lacking and confusion was now the word of the hour. One false step could send them in continuous circles that would shatter any hopes they might have of saving their world.  
  
Yuffie led the way through a new door and their surroundings suddenly changed from a metallic looking room to a place that glistened like a pearl. It was hard to distinguish one color from the next and where the floor ended and where the wall began. Cloud was about to lead everybody back when the ground shook violently from a near impact and caused Yuffie to lose her balance.  
  
"What the hell was that!" Barret exclaimed as he went to Yuffie's side to help her up. One jerk with his solid grip sent the little shinobi flying to her feet. She pat Barret on the shoulder and dusted her khaki shorts off before moving back with the group.  
  
Cloud and the others ran up ahead expecting to battle, but instead saw Rinoa, Squall, and Zell taking on a ferocious Behemoth. Its horns pierced the air with great fury but were unable to connect with Zell who had just finished casting Quake. The earth around the monster pumped like pistons and threw the Behemoth upwards before settling down.  
  
"What?" Cid said, bewildered, "how, why-"  
  
"It's a paradox," Nanaki reassured Cid, "Our friends were here before they went to limbo. If this problem of ours were to keep happening, they would keep appearing here time after time."  
  
"Huh?" Cid questioned again. He was always kind of slow with anything other than machines.  
  
"Nevermind," Nanaki said defeated.  
  
A small gleam of light shone from Zell's gloves as he readied himself to attack one last time. He pushed his body off the ground with all his strength and hovered for a couple seconds in the air, all the while gathering a greenish energy in his fists. Using Meteo Barret, he fell from the skies like a comet and bore down on his opponent. Zell focused all the energy into one point of attack and ripped through the demon. The body fell in two and a glowing green residue dripped through the gaping wound. As quickly as it had started, the battle was over.  
  
While Zell gathered his breath, he looked around and noticed the other visitors watching him. He jumped back and got into a ready stance for another battle. This caused the other combatants to become startled and they did the same, "Who are you?" Zell yelled with frustration and adrenaline coursing through his veins. He seemed somewhat determined to turn this into a fight.  
  
"Whoa whoa whoa!! Wait! We are your friends! Well, sort of. Please hear us out," Cid told them.  
  
"Squall, Rinoa . . ." Cloud began.  
  
"How do you know our names?" Squall yelled, placing his hand over the hilt of his Lionheart.  
  
"Let me explain," Tifa said as she walked towards Squall and backed him down.  
  
Tifa explained everything to them in full detail from the beginning up to a couple minutes ago. She told them that she and her friends were from another dimension and that they were on a mission of dire importance, and that another set of 'them' were also on a similar mission.  
  
"So you know you have to leave for us to succeed, " Cloud inferred," If you guys were to stay here, the whole thing could happen all over again. Then all would be lost! We can't risk that. There are too many different variables now that could jeopardize the whole thing."  
  
"You just want us to leave, to abandon our only chance of saving our world?" Squall screamed defiantly at Cloud as he shook his head, "I don't buy it. How do we know we can trust you?"  
  
"Squall," Cloud said, almost whispering, "Do this for Ellone . . . and for Rinoa."  
  
His words struck deep. He could visibly see Squall reacting to the words, "Well I guess we don't seem to have a choice in this matter, do we?" Squall responded. He saw the tall man in a dark red cape shake his head no, "Okay, we'll leave right now. Good luck to you guys. Don't let us down," They had almost reached the elevator to take them back to where the Ragnarok was docked when Squall spun around and shouted to Cloud to get his attention, "I trust you are going to save sis and get her to safety, right?"  
  
"Umm," Cloud realized his error. He hadn't counted on something as complex as a rescue mission. Vincent mentally smacked his own forehead. He was annoyed . . .  
  
Squall ran to Cloud and told him, "We're not gonna leave till we save Ellone. That's the whole reason we came here."  
  
"What does she look like?" Tifa asked.  
  
"She's got dark chestnut colored, shoulder-length hair and a snowy complexion. Seifer has her-"  
  
"Don't worry, you can count on spikey-ass here to save her. You guys just be waiting for her with your transport. We'll send a signal when we have her," Barret consoled the worried Squall. Squall was a little concerned about it by the way the big guy talked, but he got over it. He ran back into the elevator and it zoomed back down below. This time they went on their separate paths for sure.  
  
The group continued to push deeper into the Lunatic Pandora. There was no sign of either Adel, or this Ellone girl. There was a feeling that they might have to pass on saving this girl. Cloud and the others climbed up ladder after ladder and many a stair but finally reached their destination, Adel's doorstep. With incredible dumb luck, Cloud and the others had also stumbled onto Seifer and Ellone.  
  
As Cloud led the group closer, the brazen young man in specialized gray SeeD fatigues and a dirty, white trench coat confronted them all. At his side were two tough looking warriors. Raijin swung his dumbbell shaped staff above his head and at his sides. He tried to look menacing, but a woman about half his size pushed him in the back and knocked him off balance. Her name was Fujin and her razor sharp discus shone with power as she wound up for an attack.  
  
Seifer clutched Ellone by the shoulder and shoved her into Raijin's arms, "Where did Squall and Chickenwuss go?" Seifer jumped forward, his sword drawn "Who the hell are you!" He had been expecting Squall, Rinoa and the others to fight him, not a small army. The Sorceress Knight was outnumbered and out gunned.  
  
"There is no need to tell you," Vincent declared.  
  
Seifer was very angry. How dare they speak to him like that! The muscles in his neck bulged and he gritted his teeth as he readied himself to strike, "I think you'll be more inclined to talk after I'm done with you!" Seifer sliced the air with his Hyperion blade, signaling both of his cronies to attack.  
  
"We'll see how ya fight now, ya?" Raijin said as he dashed forward and swung his pole hard at Vincent. Using his robotic arm Vincent grabbed the end of the staff and stopped it dead. Every muscle in Raijin's chest and arm strained as he tried to connect with his foe.  
  
"I said, there is no need," Vincent replied. The mechanisms in his fist closed and his metallic claw shattered the wooden prod into thousands of pieces. Raijin looked up at his broken weapon, then at Vincent.  
  
"Vincent! Over here!" Nanaki screamed from across the room. The ancient had used a Remove spell and had created a temporary portal in the center of the room. Vincent capitalized on this and knocked Raijin off his feet and into the vortex. As Raijin sunk into the green pool of time energy, Fujin took her chances and launched her disk along the ground towards the main group of fighters. Sparks flew up as her Rising Sun tore through the ground.  
  
"I got it!" Barret yelled as he took aim and blasted the projectile with a few well placed rounds. The serrated disc went off course and embedded itself in the wall before it could be retrieved.  
  
"Haiiii YA!" Yuffie came out of nowhere and jumped kicked Fujin in the face. The force knocked her into the air and right into the closing portal. Two down, one to go.  
  
  
  
Plains of Esthar  
  
  
  
"HUMILIATION," Fujin shot a wicked glance at Raijin as she rubbed her jaw. Without giving it much thought she kicked Raijin in the shin.  
  
"What was that for, ya?" Raijin snapped, as he jumped up and down on one foot, "It wasn't my fault!"  
  
  
  
Lunatic Pandora  
  
  
  
Seifer was boiling. His face was red and his actions were becoming erratic. He was still waiting to attack, but his technique was everywhere. He slashed wildly in the air as he realized that defeat was inevitable. During the excitement of the battle he had lost track of Ellone and Tifa was able to get her away from the battle.  
  
Cloud walked over to her as Seifer continued to stare them down, "You Ellone?"  
  
"Yes . . . How did you know?" Ellone asked him.  
  
Cloud was about to answer her when a great burst of air blew and engines roared from above them and displaced years of dust. It caused everyone to shield their eyes and mouth. The crimson colored Ragnarok was lowering its ramp onto the outdoor platform in front of Adel's door, which was now only guarded by a lonely Seifer. On one side Squall held on to the hydraulic pipes that lowered the ramp, on the other it was Zell.  
  
"C'mon Ellone!" Rinoa yelled over the engines from inside the ramp on the ship. She cupped her hands and screamed again, moving closer to the edge to get her friend to hurry up.  
  
"Thank you all for helping me, I don't know how to repay you," Ellone stated.  
  
"Just get on that ship and get away from here," Cloud shouted over the deafening roar. She turned to Cloud and the others and said "thanks" once more before running to the arms of her rescuers.  
  
Back towards the door to Adel's throne room, Seifer stood silently. He had been brooding, planning . . . watching his whole future go down the drain, "I will not let some puny SeeD . . . some weak fool and his friends defeat me . . . NEVER!" Awakening some type of hidden power inside of his body, Seifer charged the Ragnarok as Ellone was being lifted onto the ramp and to safety. He struck the ground under the ship as it was gaining some altitude and a dozen whirlwinds of flame rocked it back and forth. Unable to secure herself, Rinoa was tossed from the ship and fell down to the platform. Seifer quickly picked up her unconscious body and moved back towards Adel's door.  
  
"RINOA!!!" Squall cried out from the top of his lungs, "Selphie put us down!"  
  
"I can't! He damaged the ramp and landing claws with that last attack!"  
  
"Then I'll just jump!" Squall prepared to jump and watched for an opportunity to do so. He was about to jump when the floor hanging outside the Lunatic Pandora ruptured and cracked open. The huge piece of metal ripped like paper and took off down the side of the monolith sound like nails on a chalkboard, "Shit!"  
  
"Stay there! We'll get her back!" Cloud screamed to Squall as more dust swirled around the broken platform.  
  
By the time Cloud had got his bearings, Seifer had already dragged Rinoa's limp body into Adel's domain. The mission was dangerously close to failing. Cloud and Vincent were the first ones to arrive at the doorway, the others soon followed. What they heard unnerved them . . . it was somebody laughing. Not just any type of laughter . . . but the laughter of a madman. A creepy yellow tint seeped from the cracks in the door and spilled outside. Things definitely weren't happening as Squall had said. 


	6. The Darkest Knight

Chapter 6: The Darkest Knight  
  
  
  
The closer everybody got to the door, the more intense the yellow light seemed to shine. Could the room's inhabitant be feeding on their fear? Cloud's hand began to shake a little as he reached forward to open the door.  
  
'Come on Cloud, get it together!'  
  
He had destroyed a god-like madman, and even vanquished all four super powerful creatures called WEAPONS that would have easily returned the world back to nothingness. Not even the mighty Shinra Corporation that had seemingly unlimited resources could stand long against their assault.  
  
So why was he so scared right now? What was so different about this person that had Cloud frozen in his tracks? Something was elusive within the whole equation. It was a feeling he had since both squads left purgatory. Both Nanaki and Cloud had suspected that the voice wasn't telling them something, and perhaps now whatever it was would stab them in the back. Or maybe what he lacked this time was the spiritual protection from his departed loved one. Aeris had been there for him, reaching out to the reluctant guardian of the planet when all was thought to be lost. Her noble sacrifice and devotion were what had saved the planet from destruction, not his brute strength.  
  
Cloud shook the thought off and realized that he had all of his friends with him. With them fighting together, he knew that they would be unbeatable. In this confident state he kicked the door open as hard as he could, causing it to dent before recoiling against the wall and swinging back. Tifa jumped, startled by the sudden noise, and she tore her attention away from the circling Ragnarok to gaze in his direction. Snapping back to attention she barged into the room along with everybody else. The golden light from before immediately blacked out and everybody was left in the dark.  
  
"What kinda game is this?" Barret blurted aloud, "I don' like it Cloud."  
  
"Me either," Nanaki added, "be on your guard."  
  
Warily they all filed in, remaining close in vicinity to one another so they wouldn't become separated from one another in the darkness. Through the eerie silence, only the shuffling of feet against impure metal could be heard. Cloud entered deeper into Adel's room and started to notice that not all the light was gone. A false sunlight seemed to emanate from the center of the room and cast a weak haze over everything. It became thicker the farther they progressed. A soft, pulsating glow was gently burning in the wires that composed the room and it seemed to be getting stronger with each passing moment. Cloud's insecurity spread like an epidemic and this once fearless group now trod like they were walking on glass. The slightest sound or movement caused them to become uneasy.  
  
"Guys, do you see any trace of Rinoa or Seifer?" Tifa asked.  
  
"No, keep quiet and keep moving . . . alright?" Cloud response was a little harsher than it needed to be, but he was far more uptight than the rest of his friends. He knew full well what would happen if Rinoa was allowed to meld with Adel. It would mean Armageddon all over again.  
  
There was a scream, a popping sound, a burst of energy and the bright yellow wires criss-crossing the ceiling above them came to life. A million rivers of light spread across the entire vicinity and highlighted the walls with their artificial flame. A loud hum drowned out all other noise and the focus of the light shifted directly to the middle of the room. Seifer held onto his captive by shear determination as she struggled for dear life. A shadow slowly descended from the ceiling, blocking out the light with its dark frame. Adel looked to be able to manipulate these wires at will and she used them to lower herself to the level of Cloud and her other challengers. In all respects she looked like a cold, dead figure, but in an instant an evil red glow came from her eyes and she tore through her restraints. Pieces of her prison crashed to the floor below and disintegrated on impact from the dark power she gave off.  
  
"You got to be kidding me . . ." Cid mouthed in awe, letting his cigarette fall from his mouth.  
  
"Seifer, don't do this! Let me go!" Rinoa pleaded.  
  
"I must follow my sorceress' wishes Rinoa. If only you had accepted your fate, maybe I could have been your Knight instead," Seifer explained, loosening his grip slightly out of hatred for himself.  
  
A grin spread across Adel's face as she examined her new vessel. She could feel the potential power she would obtain from merging with the younger sorceress and it drove her wild with anticipation. Her body prepared itself for the upcoming joining of souls, liquefying her chest so that Rinoa could easily be taken into herself. Adel opened her mouth, and in a feat that defies science extended her hand far past its limits towards Rinoa. The rubbery appendage was approaching its target with deadly accuracy and would have connected had it not been for one sneaky ninja.  
  
"HA!" The martial art prodigy flicked a pair of throwing stars directly at the Sorceress' Knight, watching with satisfaction as they buried themselves deeply into the arm holding Rinoa. Seeing Seifer's sudden distraction, the young woman broke free and dove to her left and to freedom.  
  
"NOOOOO!!!" Adel screamed in horror as her fist plunged through the stomach of the stunned Seifer. Her hand came out the other side with a waterfall of flesh and blood, and the former SeeD student collapsed to the ground. Adel's power had been too wild, too untamed . . . and now she would pay the ultimate price. Her arm retracted uncontrollably and reeled Seifer in, the impact of his body against hers knocked both to the ground and behind the remnants of the cryogenic prison.  
  
"Seifer!" Rinoa's cry was one of despair, and she dashed towards the SeeD candidate with a speed born from the love they had once shared.  
  
"Rinoa NO!" Cloud screamed as he tackled her to the ground. She lay there under his weight, sobbing uncontrollably.  
  
"I didn't want this to happen to him," She cried, hitting the ground in frustration. Cloud helped Rinoa to her feet and she wiped away the tears with her forearm.  
  
"Hey," Cloud said as he grabbed her by both arms, "You have to get out of here now. Squall is waiting for you, okay?" She nodded, "I'm sure when this is all over Seifer will be just fine. Now go!"  
  
Reluctantly, she took one last look at the bloodstained wreckage and ran off. Cid and Tifa cautiously followed her incase something were to happen. After no sign of either of their foes getting up, Cloud motioned for Vincent and Barret to walk with him to check it out. Careful not to hurt themselves on the debris strewn about the room and the bare wires poking through the floor, the trio took their time. As they got around the crushed metal unit that had contained Adel, something flew by Barret, barely missing him.  
  
"What the hell?"  
  
"Everybody get down!" Vincent ordered his friends.  
  
More deadly debris began flying through the air, missing the three to become embedded in the ceiling above. The wires began shorting out and the light became weaker around that area. In the dim light, Cloud was able to make out a figure pushing itself to its feet.  
  
"Seifer, give up and stay down!" Cloud yelled as he quickly drew his Ultima Weapon from its sheath.  
  
"Seifer isn't here . . . " A raspy, double voice responded. Bewildered, Barret took a step closer to the shadowy person, "Fools! You will all die now!" a shockwave of orange light erupted from the person and shot through the ceiling and into the afternoon sky above. The three tumbled backwards helplessly as the force of the blast overpowered them. Hearing the noise from the outside, Cid and Tifa hurried back in, just in time to see Cloud and the others land heavily on their backs  
  
"Cloud!" Tifa screamed as she rushed to his unmoving body, "are you okay?"  
  
"Did somebody get the number of that train?" He mumbled, his mind in a stunned daze.  
  
"Heh," She chuckled, holding back a tear, "What happened?"  
  
Cloud didn't have time to answer. The material that composed the ceiling and walls of the Lunatic Pandora rained into the chamber along with a beam of sunlight from the outside. Tifa could see for herself what had happened. In Adel's excited state, her body was had become very susceptible to fusing. In desperation for the merger, she had been unable to react in time to stop her mad lunge following Rinoa's sudden escape. Instead of her goal, the merging of body and mind with that of Rinoa, her plans had been shattered with the absorption of Seifer.  
  
Their two bodies became one, each complimenting the other. However, Seifer's undefeated personality and insatiable hunger for battle disrupted the process. He took Adel into his own self and became a diabolical Sorcerer Knight with unimaginable powers. His original clothes had been cast aside, and in their place blood-red armor that spiked outwards in demonic fashion spider-webbed all over his body. His blonde hair had turned fiery red orange and archaic tattoos begun to spring up like magic across his neck and face.  
  
"Umm guys," Yuffie whimpered as she stepped back from the abomination. Seifer directed his attention towards her movement and began to walk towards the ninja. Barret and Vincent were still getting up, unaware of the situation, while Tifa was helping a groggy Cloud to his feet. Nearby, but still too far away to help, Cid was running in towards her with the Venus Gospel raised. Alone, unable to flee, Yuffie began the attack, "So you want some? Come and get it!" After a quick wind up, Yuffie let loose a barrage of razor sharp ninja stars. They all hit their target dead on but Seifer's armor deflected them away without any harm to him.  
  
Seifer smiled at his newfound power and continued to make his way towards Yuffie. He raised his right hand and flicked his wrist. A wicked red blade extended from the top of his armored gauntlet. It was double sided, with curved indentions and holes in the middle to decrease pull from the wind when he swung it. It looked very similar to the Apocalypse Sword that Cloud had once wielded.  
  
Frustrated, and now slightly shaking in fear, Yuffie readied herself for another attack, "You'll pay for taking me lightly," She said, gripping her weapon The Conformer as tight as she could with two hands, "Take this!" Godo's daughter charged the Knight Sorcerer with all the speed she had, channeling all her energy into the large spiked battle disc. Seifer always loved a challenge and began to run as well. He taunted her by running with the sword behind his body like he always did. It was her Greased Lightning attack against his lone Dark Blood Sword.  
  
Yuffie leapt a few feet into the air and came down hard with all her strength. Seifer twisted his sword around from behind and whipped it around in a wide, sweeping arc. The weapons met with a horrible screech and the young girl went flying through the air like a rag doll.  
  
"Yuffie!" Cid shouted as he saw his friend slam against the ground and hit her head, "You son of bitch, you'll pay for hurting her!" the captain started a rush of his own and was upon the Knight faster than Yuffie. He was also more powerful. He wound up the Venus Gospel over his head like a bat and Seifer barely had time to put up a decent defense. The solid steel spear struck the Dark Blood Sword and sent the half sorcerer sliding backwards across the ground.  
  
"Nice move, but I won't let you do it again," the fused Seifer pointed out to his assailant. It only served to anger the pilot more. After a string of curses and missed blows, Cid was on the defensive. Seifer's blows were amazingly powerful and the aging pilot could feel the strength behind them increasing with each hit. Dents and chinks were accumulating on the blade and handle of the Venus Gospel faster than a thousand battles could have done and Cid knew he had to act fast.  
  
"Ha!" After a near miss by the former sorceress knight, Cid jumped into the air and flipped forward with all his weight. The edge of his weapon glowed pink and blue as he charged up for a Hyper Jump. He was about to split Seifer's armor in half when all of the sudden a huge tentacle made of yellow wires grew from the floor and wrapped around his body. They quickly bound around his arms and legs, causing him to drop his Venus Gospel on the ground below, "God damn it!"  
  
The smile on Seifer's face widened even more as he manipulated the wires tighter around his enemy's neck and body.  
  
"Heads up!" Tifa alerted Seifer an instant before rocking his jaw with a crushing uppercut. A beam of light shot from Cloud's sword across the ground and hit the knight as he was reeling, knocking him even further back. Instead of dissipating it divided into three other beams and cut the bottom off the bundle of wires. As the wires around Cid loosened and allowed him to move again, Nanaki came to his aid to make sure he was okay. Other than being a little light headed, the captain was fine.  
  
"And fo good measure mutha fugga," Barret's gun rattled his hand as a ball of energy collected at the end. He pulled the trigger, letting loose the Big Shot across the room. The staggering Seifer summoned a wall of wires to block the limit break but it tore right through it and pounded him right in the middle of the chest. This time he couldn't keep his balance and his armor sparked across the floor carrying him far away from the combat zone where the fighting was going on.  
  
After a few moments of writhing on the floor, Seifer got back up to his feet. His spiked armor was smoldering and a part of it had blown off from the last attack. A line of red dripped down his lip but he was quick to lick it away. The odds were against him still, despite his newfound power, "Seven against one, now that's not fair," Seifer's voice sounded a little like Adel's as he continued to talk. It seemed like the weaker he got, the stronger she was becoming. Another sword popped out of the gauntlet on his other wrist and he crossed both of them together into an X, "no matter."  
  
"Give it up Seifer! As long as we fight together you can't defeat us!" Nanaki growled across the room.  
  
"That's what you think!" Seifer snapped back, "I won't lose to the likes of you! I won't lose ever again!!!" Drawing on Adel's powers inside of his own body, Seifer closed the void in his breastplate called upon all of his remaining power, "AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"  
  
The ground underneath him crumbled away as a red sphere enveloped his body. Strands of energy would occasionally stray away and strike the ceiling, but for the most part Seifer remained inside, unseen.  
  
"What's he doing?" Nanaki asked as he kept a safe distance from the roaring red globe.  
  
"I don't know but I'm not waiting to find out like last time!" a renewed Yuffie yelled. Taking one step forward she unleashed a powerful Lightning 3 spell above the ball of energy. Pure blue light collected above Seifer and a bolt of lightning zapped downwards a hundred times onto the ball. The sphere changed color to purple but the magic seemed to be negated.  
  
Tifa raised both of her fists into the air and launched a spell of her own. Fire 3 wrapped around the other ball of energy and exploded into a hurricane of flame before wearing out. As the last remaining balls of flame burnt out, all that could be seen was a smoking sea of red swirling around Seifer.  
  
"Don't waste your magic power," Vincent called out to his friends, "He'll come out when he comes out."  
  
"At least like this he can't harm anybody." Nanaki added. With their magic harmlessly being absorbed by Seifer's and Adel's magic shell and reflective armor, they had no other choice.  
  
It seemed that as soon as everybody halted their assault, the shield around Seifer shut down and faded away. The group of heroes were now able to see why the Knight Sorcerer had chosen that tactic in the first place. He had gone through a metamorphosis, and one of the obvious abilities he acquired was that of flight. Another change was that of his physical look. His eyes were now totally red, pupils and all. All that remained of his lens was a black cat-like slit. Seifer had also grown an extra four limbs that were an extension of his armor but contained all the skill and knowledge that he had. It was as if his armor was alive . . .  
  
"My turn," Seifer stated, raising his hand outwards with his palm facing the ceiling. He formed a fist in one solid movement and the entire room came to life. Pillars of wire began shooting out of the floor and slamming through the ceiling to the roof of the Lunatic Pandora. Cloud and the others were diving out of the way as fast as they could, trying not to get crushed by the innards of the living monolith. As long as the wires continued to jut out of the ground, it left them all off guard and defenseless, "The girl that hit me dies first!"  
  
"No you don't!" Red XIII cried out as he watched Seifer fly from his stationary position and dive towards Tifa, "Cosmo Memory!" The feral instincts awakened inside of the Ancient and his howl echoed throughout the room. Power that he kept deep inside took the form of an orange spinning orb above his head. Nanaki's anger was well beyond its limit and he couldn't hold back any longer. He took a solid stance on the ground and let loose all the energy the planet could muster for his attack. The ray of never ending fire poured out the orb and took off across the room, incinerating all the towers of wire in its path.  
  
Tifa had been struggling the entire time, barely dodging each new attack. She had seen Seifer too late and he was seconds from pouncing on her. With four more daggers extending from his fresh limbs, it looked like the end for the martial art master.  
  
"Tifa!" Cloud screamed as he darted through the jungle of electrical wires.  
  
The darkened parts of the room suddenly became illuminated as the light from Red's attack set everything it touched on fire. Seifer was a few feet away from his target but that would be as close as he got. The extreme limit break collided with the sorcerer and carried him through hundreds of shining pillars before embedding him into the wall.  
  
"Give him everything you got!" Cloud yelled.  
  
"All Creation!" Yuffie screamed as she somersaulted around a column and fired the blue and purple beam from her Conformer. The discharged excess energy burned a huge hole right through the center of the room as it bore down on Seifer. He tried to push himself off the wall so the attack would miss him, but it ended up hitting him like a tidal wave, bending his arms and legs in ways they were never meant to move as he got pushed deeper into the indention in the wall.  
  
"I was meant to live forever . . ." Adel's voice was definitely taking residence in Seifer's now," I was chosen by Hyne to rule the world. I will not perish. Your efforts have been futile!" she stated in a disgruntled tone. Seifer closed his eyes and summoned all of the sorceress' energy into one final attack. Neon green particles accumulated between each pair of hands, dancing in the limited space like dying fireflies.  
  
"He's using Ultima! Everybody Shield up!" Cloud, Barret and Cid tapped the Master Magic's in their bangles together and a bright light in the shape of a body shield appeared in front of each of them.  
  
"It's too late for all of you!" Seifer announced just before casting the spells simultaneously. Three domes of destruction spread out like atom bombs from the hypocenter around the former sorceress knight. The ground collapsed outwards under the furious storm of green explosions and the more damaged parts of the room evaporated in a chain reaction. The immense explosion closed in on Cloud and his friends in a matter of seconds.  
  
"Shield!" Yuffie screamed as she cast the barrier with the last ounce of magic she had. Vincent felt the heated wave as it got closer but he had used that spell right before it happened.  
  
"Shi-" Red yelped as the ground beneath him disappeared before the spell reached him. He pawed for anything to grab onto but there was nothing. He began to fall and was unable to put up any type of defense as each Ultima began to do damage. 


	7. When Everything Isn't Enough

Chapter 7: When Everything Isn't Enough  
  
"Help me!" Red yelped in pain as the green mist began to do its work on his body. His bangle did as much as it could to block the first attack but halfway through it fractured into two, falling from his forearm like a broken egg.  
  
"Red! Put up a barrier!" Tifa screamed as she rushed over towards her flailing friend.  
  
"I . . . CAN'T!" he howled.  
  
Her arm was extended in hopes that she could reach him in time, but in all the confusion, she had forgotten to put up any defense of her own and the first Ultima attack reached her.  
  
"Tifa! Get down!" Cloud cried out as he dived over her body to protect her. The rainbow colored Shield around him warped and expanded, covering Tifa's body in its impenetrable glow as well as his. The second and third waves of shear energy flowed over their backs like it was nothing more than water but it had a much worse effect on Nanaki.  
  
Time seemed to stop as the luminescent green magic lifted Seto's son up into the air and against the broken shards of floor. Nanaki's comrades could only watch as he wailed in maddening pain from the searing emerald death known as Ultima. Each passing second pressed the spears of shattered floor farther and farther into his torso. At this point his fur was being scolded away and his sad moans caused Yuffie to turn her head and cry. Each wave successively pounded on his weakened body until his battered frame could take no more.  
  
A large burst from the third Ultima slammed his top half up into the room while the rest of his body wanted to fall downwards. Red tore in two with a sickening crunch. Tifa had been watching not more than five feet away from Red when it happened, "Oh my god . . ." she gasped, her eyes and mouth were locked open in horror. His fresh blood splattered all over the shared Shield and Tifa had to watch as it dripped off. Nanaki's body was flung aside like a rag doll, leaving a trail of red behind as it skidded across the floor.  
  
"And now you know that you were NEVER meant to beat me," Seifer taunted as he pushed his way out of the remaining wall. He brushed the stray pieces of metal off his shoulders like dust and cracked all six of his hands like it had all been nothing more than a warm-up, "Who's next in line?"  
  
In a sudden surge of strength Tifa shoved Cloud off her back, "I'll take you on," streams of tears were flowing down her cheeks as she lost all her senses. Tifa was blinded by her own hate, anguish, and sadness. She had watched when Aeris was struck down by Sephiroth's murderous blade, she had seen her father dying inside the Nibelheim reactor, and now she remained helpless again when Red died right in front of her eyes. Her instructor in the martial arts, Zangan, had taught her never to fight with her emotions because it would cloud her thoughts and disrupt her techniques. Only a clear mind could defeat her opponent. Of course that was the last thing going through her mind.  
  
"No Tifa!" Cloud exclaimed as he grabbed Tifa's arm to keep her there, "Wait till we are all ready and we'll attack him together!"  
  
"Ha ha ha. Yes Tifa . . . wait. You'll get your turn soon enough," Seifer taunted, his chest heaving in laughter.  
  
"Cloud," Tifa began as she backed away, her arm quivering in fear, "I love you." Acting irrational and reckless for the first time since the Nibelheim accident, she pressed her soft lips against Cloud's. He let out a muffled gasp of surprise at first but it didn't take long for him to return the gesture. Tifa felt his body relax and she pulled away, moving her mouth close to his ear. She ran her right hand through his hair and across the back of his neck and whispered, "I'll be waiting till you guys get back," Cloud looked at her in bewilderment and caught a hard knee to his stomach. He collapsed to the ground with the wind knocked out of him, his right arm groping Tifa's side as his other clutched the bruised rib. Tifa kissed him one last time on the forehead before running off.  
  
As she ran towards a fight she knew she wouldn't win, drops of tears fell from her chin. Millions of things seemed to fill her head. Would she die? Will the mission be accomplished? Tifa knew that this had to be done. She was selfless . . . she didn't want anybody else to die. There had already been too much death in her life and it was too much. The only thing the young woman from Nibelheim wanted to do was save her friends who were still raising themselves off the ground.  
  
Luckily, Seifer was caught off guard and she got the jump on him. She darted through the burnt husks of wire left from the wake of Ultima unseen, her chest heaving up and down in anxiety the closer she got. The sorcerer had been distracted by Tifa's other friends. Seifer's eyes gleamed in morbid delight as he watched his enemies struggle just to stand up. They were sitting ducks! Was he planning on attacking them before they could even get up? NO! Tifa wouldn't let it happen. The time for her attack was now!  
  
As Tifa arrived at her destination behind the knight, time and space seemed to move in slow motion around her. Her first blow hit Seifer's lower back, causing him to arch forward in both surprise and pain. Two more fists connected near his shoulder blades in a beat rush and knocked him from his floating perch. Tifa wasn't about to stop there. As the former SeeD in training crashed into shaky ground below, Tifa leapt haphazardly across the floor and put herself right back in front of Seifer's sight. He groggily got to his feet but a foot landed on his knee, forcing him back down into a kneeling position. Another foot snapped upwards and rocked his chin, causing Seifer to fall backwards.  
  
"She might jus pull it off!" Barret exclaimed, keeping his distance from the feverish fight happening mere feet from his position.  
  
Tifa executed a perfect landing after doing a backward somersault and prepared herself for even more action. Her opponent didn't seem to know when to quit and raised himself to his feet yet again. With amazing speed she closed the distance between Seifer and continued her assault with a well placed kick right behind his knee. Tifa's blows received a satisfying crunch as pieces of spiked armor clattered to the metal surface beneath her feet. As he struggled to keep his balance, Seifer left himself open for a devastating uppercut. Tifa's fist slammed into his chin and the knight's body snapped backwards without resistance.  
  
"Tifa you can do it!" Yuffie cheered as she kept her eyes glued to the battle.  
  
She had him between a rock and a hard place, and she knew it. Tifa juggled whether or not to use her dynamic suplex attacks but decided against it, "Your evil stops here Seifer," she said, making a fist with her right hand. Electricity flowed from the sparking wires and converted into energy as soon as it touched her hand. The glow from her fist flashed against the wall as the gathered strength began to overflow. Her awesome finishing move, Final Heaven was ready to be unleashed. Tifa's forearm spasmed as the attack became too much for her to hold in.  
  
Seifer's nose gushed with blood but he stood defiantly to the last. "DO IT!" Cid screamed.  
  
"Yaa!!!" Tifa swung as hard as she could and her final limit break let loose like a cannon. There was so much power behind the attack that it pulled her along the ground as she lunged forward. Air around her fist looked like it had caught fire as her punch gathered even more momentum to finish the evilly-fused Seifer.  
  
Milliseconds before it connected with his chest, Seifer managed to dodge the attack and grab Tifa's wrist. The sudden stop drained all of the charged attack from Tifa and the materialized energy harmlessly ripped along the ground before taking a nice portion of wire and metal out of the wall.  
  
"I told you," Seifer calmly stated, his eyes cold and fixed on the others as he clutched Tifa's arm even tighter, "Nobody can defeat me. I've been chosen by Hyne to rule the world for all eternity!"  
  
Tifa tried jerking her hand away as hard as she could, but his grasp was stronger than steel. Seifer's demonic blade extended from his other arm and come dangerously close to his captive's neck. In desperation Tifa kicked and punched the arm that held her, but the man that owned the arm remained motionless, like a statue, "Here's a warning to all those that oppose me, a message to anybody who approaches the mighty Sorcerer Knight!" Tifa's eyes widened in horror, he was actually going to do it! She tried to pull her arm away one last time but to no avail. Her shoulder was dislocated, and tears poured from her eyes as she came to terms with her situation.  
  
The sword pierced through her back, coming out at an angle from her stomach. She tried to talk, to say anything, but only red liquid was produced from her vocal chords. Moments of her life passed through her eyes. The first day she opened her bar in the slums, meeting Barret and not too soon afterwards learning about his group AVALANCHE, finding Cloud beaten and nearly unconscious at the rail station. The thoughts culminated back to one memory . . . the promise. Cloud had told her that no matter what happened, he'd always be there for her. If trouble ever arose, Cloud would be there to protect her.  
  
Dazed, Tifa got to her feet and felt the life leaving her stomach. She touched her injury in disbelief with a dreamlike look on her face. Tifa saw that Cloud was running, yelling something at the top of his lungs at his love, but she couldn't hear it. She gave him her usual bright and cheery smile, glad that her last sight would be that of Cloud Strife and not alone somewhere in darkness. It was in her most beautiful moment that the other attacks came. Seifer's other limbs struck in a unified attack and each sword sliced easily through Tifa like a pin cushion.  
  
They withdrew from Tifa's body and she instantly fell to the ground. She tried to pick herself up but every attempt sent blinding pain through her entire body. Entirely defeated, Tifa closed her eyes and smiled. She fell face down onto the unforgiving floor and stopped moving.  
  
"Tifa?" Cloud whimpered under his breath. He ran over to Tifa as fast he could, not worrying about his own safety. He was quick to slide onto his knees and pick up her fallen form. His right arm went over her body, bring Tifa closer to his own, and his other arm wrapped behind her, gripping her shoulder and bringing her head near to his level, "Tifa," Cloud cried, shaking her as though she were in some type of deep sleep that he could wake her from. Cloud knew it was futile. She was far beyond any help he could give her. He wiped the blood away from her mouth with his palm and brought Tifa even closer to his body. With his head buried in Tifa's chest, he sobbed, "I'm so sorry . . . I . . . I was too late again," the silence around him was maddening. When she didn't respond, Cloud lost it, "Tifa? TIFA? TIIIIIIIIFAAAAAA!!!!"  
  
A playful tapping of metal on metal greeted Cloud from behind. He was unaware that Seifer had been approaching slowly while he mourned, taking his time to bask in his greatness, "People just seem to be dying left and right, aren't they?" Seifer chuckled to himself, containing his laugh behind a smug smile. Cloud painfully made himself listen. It brought him back to reality and reminded him why he was there in the first place. To his surprise Barret and the others came to the rescue, ready to fight to the death if need be. It was obvious that Tifa's death left them despondent, but they pulled through.  
  
Barret was the first one to skip the mourning phase and go right into anger, "Mother fucker, you gonna-"  
  
"Barret, step back," Cloud urged his friend as he gently lay Tifa's body down against the charred surface of the Lunatic Pandora.  
  
"Fuck you Cloud, I'm gonna take him out myself," Barret shouted back. He raised his gun and locked his aim directly between Seifer's eyes.  
  
"Barret . . . HE'S MINE!" as Cloud voiced his declaration, small wisps or air collected around his feet and began to rotate clockwise. Cloud's pupils could barely be seen as his eyes glowed neon blue.  
  
"Cloud?" Yuffie asked her friend in a worried tone. She got no answer. The visible air swirling around Cloud grew and the room around him darkened as the warrior pulled the Ultima Weapon from its sheath.  
  
"Let him be . . ." Vincent told Yuffie, pulling her away from Cloud, "You guys would be wise to pull back as well," Cid and Barret reluctantly and cautiously walked away from the fight, making sure not to turn their back on Seifer.  
  
"Ha ha ha, what is this, a trick?" Seifer laughed. He confidently put his sword away and crossed his arms, "You guys are pathetic. You may have got the jump on me earlier, but no more! If you want me to hunt you down, so be it!"  
  
The wizard knight took a step forward and Cloud raised his sword, "I don't think so," The turbulent mist around Cloud suddenly spread outward and blew past Seifer. In the moments that followed, the room went completely dark and a pinpoint of light shone from the tip of the Ultima sword. Its high pitch scream echoed against the cavernous ceiling, causing Seifer to cover his ears and turn away from the sound.  
  
"What is this?" He looked up and saw the neon pink blade drawn back behind Cloud in an aggressive posture. Seifer barely managed to extend a blade from his right arm to parry the blow. He pulled out another sword from his other arm and was about to counterattack when a second slice came down on him. Seifer used both weapons to push back the attacker but the next strike came down faster and harder. It clashed against the saber on his right arm with a devastating clink and broke his arm, "Bastard! That's it!" A fourth and fifth attack came one after the other and Seifer released his living armor onto Cloud. The four extra swords at the end of his fake limbs looked like the tips of a scorpion's tail and were just as deadly. He swung them wildly about to deter his assailant but Cloud continued to slash at his opponent. The sixth and seventh swings hit Seifer from both sides like a ton of bricks and forced him catch his balance on the ground with one of his arms.  
  
This break in defense was all the opening Cloud needed. Without proper leverage Seifer's extremities were nothing more than target practice. When the first strike hit, one of the limbs gave way and snapped off of its master. Seifer almost had his head taken off as another swing cleanly lopped off two more branches of armor. His swordsmanship was being tested, and he was failing . . . Cloud snaked his way behind Seifer and cut off the remaining limb before dashing forward. His sword cut through the armor like paper, causing his enemy extreme pain. But he wasn't done yet . . .  
  
The symphony of sound his sword made as it rung against Seifer's battered body continued in even rhythm. Two upward swings took off the Sorcerer's arms in a magnificent crescendo to the action and left Seifer completely defenseless. The look in his eyes screamed mercy, but Cloud would only show him the same mercy that was shown to Tifa.  
  
Cloud effortlessly stuck the Ultimate Weapon into Seifer's thick, serrated armor and immediately pulled it out. Purple blood sprayed from the wound and the once proud knight collapsed, "Please . . . make it stop," Cloud answered him by leaping as high as the ceiling would allow. In a pain induced seizure Seifer gazed up in awe at the true hero far above him. The point of light had returned, and remained on the edge of the sword as it sliced down towards him. A shrill, piercing scream as the blade cut through the air was the last thing Seifer would ever hear. There was an explosion of light as the Ultima Weapon hit and it bathed everything in its pure white color.  
  
Once the light had faded into the walls, Seifer lay beaten. His body had been sliced diagonally, from the shoulder all the way through his torso. Yuffie couldn't bear to see the sight, "Oh no Cloud," she shook, "How could you do something like that?" She turned to Cid and hid her face in his royal blue pilot's jacket, covering her mouth in disgust.  
  
Cloud merely walked it off, dragging his sword along the ground as he walked back to join his friends. It sounded like someone was dragging their nails against a chalkboard but he didn't care.  
  
"Cloud, I'm sorry I . . ." Barret stammered.  
  
"Don't worry about it," Cloud replied emotionlessly. Giving into his grief he let go of his sword and fell to his knees. All he could do was gaze at his bloodstained hands and say to himself, "My god . . . what have I done." 


	8. Second Wind

Chapter 8: Second Wind  
  
The sound of a beating drum. No wait, the pounding of a drum. The sound rang throughout the lower levels and seemed to be getting closer to their level. Vincent heard it first and thought he would investigate it. He peered into the dark crevasse that Seifer had created and heard it getting more intense. What was it? Or who was it? Glancing over to the fallen knight Vincent got his answer. What once was Seifer had transformed back into Adel. She crawled over the ground using only her two hands to pull forward. Dark liquid oozed out of her forehead and darkened the roots of her already red hair. Vincent loaded two shells into his rifle and prepared to shoot. By the time he readied his gun to attack, Adel pulled herself to the edge of the hole. She looked up at him one last time and sneered, then threw her upper body into the abyss. The low sound of drums ended and Vincent became confused. What had just happened?  
  
Yuffie and Cid were consoling Cloud as best they could but their leader couldn't be reached. His thoughts were in another place, playing the events over and over in his head. Barret looked past the small group and saw Vincent looking into the pit, "You see somethin Vince?"  
  
Vincent was turning around to address him when the hollow rumble began again. He looked into the hole one last time and was slammed by a wall of wires growing towards the sky. The metal enclosure reached the ceiling and flowed out into the afternoon sky, breaking away what remained of the Lunatic Pandora's roof.  
  
"What's going on?" Yuffie cried out as she clutched onto Cloud to keep him from getting hurt.  
  
Suddenly the wires parted and Adel floated out. The sorceress' lower body had been totally rebuilt with the scrap metal floating around in the monolith and she looked angrier than ever before, "How dare you oppose me! Nobody attacks the great descendant of Hyne and gets away with it!" Still dazed from the surprise attack, Vincent staggered to his feet. Before he could put up a defense Adel struck him with her hand. His body folded under the pressure and was sent flying through the iron wall.  
  
"Vincent!" Yuffie screamed as she darted to save him.  
  
"Yuffie, NO!" Barret called out to the inexperienced ninja. Adel stopped the flow of wires rising out of the Pandora and turned them on Yuffie. Thousands of strands twisted and stretched through the air, quickly binding the young Wutai native without remorse.  
  
"No! Let go of me!" She struggled against her restraints but the wires wrapped around Yuffie's entire body and mouth and sucked her into the stream of metal flowing out of the Lunatic Pandora.  
  
"Yuffie!" Cid cried out. He turned to Cloud and began to yell at him, "Cloud! Are you aware of what is happening! Get off your ass and help save her!" Barret was already blasting away at Adel, but the bullets were deflecting off her metal body and causing no damage.  
  
"I couldn't save her, I couldn't save Tifa," Cloud said, wallowing in self pity, "And Red, he cried out but I couldn't do anything. I'm worthless . . ."  
  
Cid slapped him as hard as he could, leaving a red mark across his cheek, "Snap out of it! You can still help Yuffie! Don't let her die!" Cloud put his head back down and stared at the quaking ground beneath his legs. Cid was tired of his crap and let him be, "I'm not going to wait for you any longer. I'm saving Yuffie even if I have to do it by myself!" He ran off and began to launch countless fire attacks against Adel. Bonfires of flame jumped out of the ground and superheated the metal, but none seemed to hit the sorceress," What the hell?"  
  
The wires had totally spread across the entire whole and were now breaking apart the ceiling to gain more room. Massive chunks of obsidian rock and dark black metal feel from the sky and ripped through the floor, taking away any chance of attacking Adel directly.  
  
"Damn it! No good," Barret shouted as he ran out of ammo for his gun arm. He began to switch to the Microlaser components but Adel retreated into the glowing yellow wave of wires and left his view, "Where she go?"  
  
The entire ceiling creaked and groaned, breaking away into huge partitions and falling against the floor. More and more sky was being exposed with each passing moment. Pretty soon the whole place would be destroyed. Something had to be done now! That something was Vincent . . .  
  
A howl lingered in the air just long enough for Cid and Barret to hear. A dark skinned demon swiped at the hole where Vincent had exited the room and tore a massive piece out of it, giving it the needed room to arrive in intimidating fashion. Galian Beast's tongue hung out its mouth and its three inch claws sliced through the air, ready to attack. Seeing the pillar of wire launching out of the hole in the roof, it jumped into action. The beast stampeded its way into the cavernous hall and dodged the hazardous debris seeking to block its way. When the Galian Beast saw that it could dodge a hill-sized slab of metal, it simply slashed at it with its claws, cleaving it in two.  
  
The transformed Vincent finally reached the foundation of the rising column and opened his mouth. He took a deep breath, collecting his energy. When he released it, hundreds of small flares flew out and attached themselves to the wires. They instantly detonated into powerful Beast Flares and burned holes directly into the living tower. Somewhat hurt by this attack, the wires turned on the Vincent beast and enveloped him whole. He tried to hack and slash his way out, but the wires were quick to restrain his arms.  
  
"Shit! It got Vincent!" Cid yelled over to Barret.  
  
The large black man was ineffectively blasting away at the wires that crept out to attack him and Cid with his handheld laser while at the same time dodging falling tiles of the roof, "Cloud! DO something!!" Barret belted at the top of his lungs.  
  
"I . . . can't," Cloud breathed to himself. Sensing his lack of resistance, a lone group of tendrils shot out of the pillar and grabbed onto Cloud. They snapped back like a whip and in seconds Cloud found himself inside a massive network of wires. They pulled him in all directions, causing him to cry out in pain, but still he did nothing. He had given up, and went limp. Thinking him dead, the wires let him fall.  
  
"CLOUD!!!" Cid called out. Endless streams of wires flew out. The ex-Shinra pilot did all he could to bat them away with his mighty Venus Gospel. No matter how many threads he seemed to severe, many more seemed to take their place. The wires wore him down and began to drag him in, "No! Barret help!"  
  
"I'm trying!" He threw a Molotov cocktail and it shattered, enveloping the wires pulling Cid towards Adel's web of death. It bought him some time, but if Barret couldn't critically damage the entire pillar soon, it would be all over.  
  
Falling, faster and faster . . . Cloud's hand still gripped his ultimate weapon as he descended downwards into a dark vortex in the heart of the Lunatic Pandora. Worthless. He was worthless to them, his friends . . .  
  
'Cloud, why do you despair?' the voice asked from beyond time.  
  
"It's always going to be like this. Whomever I'm around always ends up dying. I'm a curse to them and I'm better off dead." He answered.  
  
'On the contrary Cloud. You are their hope. They fought till the end of the world for you. They stood by you when all was lost. All you have to do is say it and it will be done. Cloud, don't give up . . . not yet. Your time will be up someday, but that day is not today. Aeris would not have wanted you do die like this.'  
  
"What do you know about Aeris! You know nothing about her, or about my loss!" The voice had found something inside of Cloud and awakened it, "Tell me, why should I do it for them?"  
  
'Because Cloud . . .' the sound of the voice in his head changed into a sweet soothing tone. It was Aeris . . . 'I believe in you.'  
  
It was all he needed. Cloud gripped his Ultima Weapon with both hands and jammed it into the wall. It dug deep into the wires and slowed his decent, showering him with sparks as he came to a halt among the writhing metal tentacles. They were now aware of him again and darted up the dark vertical tunnel. He could hear them scratching against each other to strangle him, "Better get a move on," Cloud positioned his feet against the wall and jerked his sword out of the wall. He managed to stab it into the other side a few feet up and repeated the process over and over again. He made good time up the inside of the pillar. His weapon cut through the wires like paper and left the foundation weak.  
  
"Clooouudd!!" Yuffie's cry rang out from far above. She didn't sound too good. Adel's laugh echoed down and taunted the would-be hero.  
  
"Hold on! I'm coming!" He responded to her. Bad move . . . the wires located him and immediately converged on his position. They came from both above and below, seeking to crush him in one swift blow. He watched as a boiling mass of heated wires came from underneath him and laughed, "You won't get rid of me that easily Adel!" Cloud dug deep into the wall with his heels. He channeled all of his extra energy into his sword, causing it to glow hot pink. When he charged all he could, a shockwave of run-over energy spread from his body. It was done . . .  
  
Cloud pushed off the wall with incredible speed, dragging his sword along the interior of the pillar. The wires coming from above could do little to stop him as he plowed through their weak strings and continued upward. A downpour of sparks rained down the dark shaft and a long gap in the wall was developing. Up ahead he could see light and hear gunfire. He knew that Cid and Barret were still fighting, in fact, he was counting on it. As soon as he was close enough he called out to them, "Barret, Cid . . . give this bitch everything you can give!"  
  
Barret watched in awe as a pink blade cut through the tower of wire and shot straight up to towards the ceiling. Cid had to shake him out of it as he was incidentally cut free from the wires, "You heard the man! Do IT!"  
  
Barret used the laser sight on his gun to target a large bulge in the column. When everything was set, he activated his Satellite Beam attack. Powerful lasers tore through what was left of the ceiling of the Lunatic Pandora like it was paper and unleashed a god-like wrath upon the long defiant multitude of wires. Each blue laser was ten feet in diameter and melted away hundreds of feet of wire in just one volley. The tower showed signs of weakening and began to fall sideways, almost directly on top of Barret.  
  
Meanwhile, Cloud was spiraling his way towards the top for a final match with Adel. The light fought its way through the thinly strung wires at the top and Cloud could make out the sorceress at the top, pounding away at Yuffie.  
  
"Now we end this," Cloud declared with his eyes lowered. He came up behind Yuffie and cut her free from the wires that held her. Infuriated, Adel began to chase the spiky-haired troublemaker as he sliced through the remaining yards of wire. Yuffie was barely conscious but was lucky enough to slide down the shaft as it fell on its side. Down below, Vincent had also found his way out of his temporary prison. He was in no shape to fight though. Cid could finally make out his enemy and locked his attack on her. When it was all set, he, Vincent, Yuffie, and Barret all vanished.  
  
Both Cloud and Adel shot out of the end of the tunnel like a cannon. They just floated there, looking at each as their worlds switched to slow motion. Adel managed to crack a smug smile while she stared at her enemy. She knew that she would have the upper hand as they began to fall.  
  
"You put up a good fight, but this is where you fade from existence!" Adel yelled as she curled herself into a ball. Cloud was given a sudden jolt and he began to feel weaker. She was stealing magical power away from him for some final attack! Without any magic power, he wouldn't be able to set up a shield and it would kill him. What would he do?  
  
Cloud would do nothing. This time around, it would be his friends that came through for him. With a deafening roar Bahamut came rocketing through the rest of the roof on the Lunatic Pandora. The dragon warrior flew so fast that it carried metal upwards into the sky with it. For a brief moment it controlled all the energy in the world and siphoned all it could into its open jaw. Once collected, the king of dragons snarled and sent the beam spiraling directly at Adel. It connected dead on with the sorceress and disintegrated more than half her body. Left with only one arm and hand, she launched a storm of lightning in the beast's direction. Before it could hurt Bahamut, it disappeared back into the materia from whence it came.  
  
Adel may have been taken out of commission, but Cloud still had a problem. He was falling again, this time hundreds of feet above what remained of the roof. He dropped along with the broken shards of the roof, both cascading downwards like water from a waterfall. In the distance he saw what looked like Neo Bahamut flying towards him, but who had cast it?  
  
As what was left of her body fell, Adel looked up at the sun. She would die before the she hit the ground and she realized this. With her good eye she gazed at the sky one last time. This was her world for the taking. If not in this body then in another's, but she would conquer it again. But since she couldn't transfer her spirit, the powers she controlled would be forever lost, and time compression would never take place. Adel heard a strange whizzing noise get louder as she fell. It seemed to be coming from way above her descending carcass. A huge beam was rapidly approaching her and would soon overtake her body. Adel gathered her strength. She knew that this was her end, her last stand. With her last gasp for air, the defiant Adel closed her eyes and waited . . .  
  
Cloud was lucky enough to watch as the Ragnarok's hovered above and fired its massive cannon again and again at Adel. Her body twisted in convulsions at first, her screams filling the sky until she could scream no more. Her face compressed and light escaped from every orifice in her body. With one last scream, her body exploded into millions of pieces and fell like dust to the ground below, unable to pass her powers to the next sorceress. Cloud was still falling but it didn't matter. He and his friends had actually done it. They had managed to destroy a future that would have certainly ended the universe. Their victory had been earned, but at what cost? His friends rushed underneath him as fast they could, trying to catch him. Right before impact they all disappeared into thin air like Tifa and Red had earlier. They were moving on, their next task not yet set before them. Whatever it was, they would be ready. 


	9. Out of Time

Chapter 9: Out of Time  
  
Squall, Rinoa, and Zell arrived at Ultimecia's door after more than two hours of intense combat. Their limits had been tested, taken within an inch of their breaking point. Fighting back exhaustion, Zell and Squall leaned over their knees and caught their breath. Rinoa, however, seemed to take it all in stride and moved around. Due to her unnaturally strong magic, the candidate for sorceress didn't have to exert as much energy as the boys did with their physical attacks.  
  
They had been the first team to reach this far. The SeeDs had split into two groups shortly after entering Ultimecia's Castle. The idea was they would equally take on the guardians of the dark citadel and make it through in half the time. It was tough on everyone having to operate under half their normal fighting power, but Squall wanted to make sure that his friends had enough guardian forces to ensure their survival. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea though, and at the moment, the leader was becoming slightly worried. Irvine's group still hadn't shown up and it should have been more than enough time to defeat the large yellow robot Trauma and the relative of the behemoth family, Catoblepas. Both were very devious and nasty, but that was no excuse. Squall placed his trust in Irvine and knew he could do it. He waited for another half hour, and was able to recharge all his energy before seeing any sign of the other group.  
  
Out of the castles cold mist walked Quistis, dragging her deadly whip Save the Queen along her side. The heavy metal end of the weapon screeched along the ground like fingernails against a chalkboard. Squall's former instructor looked haggard and frail from flight through the gauntlet. Quistis blew the hair in front of her eyes out of her face and collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Her usual beautiful hairdo was sticking out at the sides and becoming frizzy instead of being held up in a bun or ponytail. Rinoa could see that her hair wasn't the only thing frazzled. The teacher's emotions and patience were wearing thin too. Passing out on the ground, Quistis stretched out every aching limb on her body on the cold stone walkway.  
  
"What happened to Irvine and Selphie!?" Squall uneasily asked.  
  
"Don't worry," Quistis replied, short of breath, "They were right behind me. To make a long story short, we hit a snag during the fight with Catoblepas. Irvine thought it would be cute to try and take out that horrible beast as quick as possible with his fast ammo, but during the confusion Selphie was hurt. Nothing major, just a scrape on her leg from the spines on the monsters tail, but Irvine felt really bad about it. He offered to give her a ride on his back and that is why they were so far behind me," After a few moments, her story was backed up. A cowboy in a tan trench coat walked into view, carrying his adorable love, Selphie on his back and shoulders.  
  
"Are you okay?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"Irvy was sooo brave!!" Selphie replied, stealing the cowboy hat from his head as he trudged along the dark stone path leading to his friends, "He saved us when we went up against that nasty Cato . . . Catop, well that big bad beast!"  
  
"Catoblepas," Quistis finished for her, wiping stray strands of hair from her forehead.  
  
"Yeah. Quistis and I had been backed into a corner and that monster was closing in on us. Irvine used some fast ammo to save us but then it raced toward him in a rage. If he hadn't of used Apocalypse, we'd all be history."  
  
Irvine let his girlfriend down gently to the ground, but a soft groan of pain still escaped her lips, "You'll be okay baby," he said as he adjusted the makeshift bandage on her right leg. The blood had darkened the material torn from Irvine's coat but it still held tightly to the upbeat girl's leg.  
  
"Thanks Irvy," Selphie cooed as he checked her injury out. When he rose back up, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek in thanks and placed the borrowed hat back on his head.  
  
Rinoa had listened to them and tried to seem interested, but Squall knew better. It wouldn't be one of those "I'm glad you're okay situations". Irvine always fools around at the wrong times and gets himself into trouble. The fact that this time people were hurt made his transgression ten times as worse. Selphie seems to encourage him into that type of behavior, but that would be no excuse. Irvine's actions screamed immaturity and showed that he just needed to grow up.  
  
Squall looked over his friends, sighed, then put down his foot to the couple, "Okay, let's drop the crap. There is no time for you two to be flirting during a time like this. We came here on a mission, and I expect that all of you act as you would on an official operation. Got it? We aren't mercenaries for hire anymore, do you guys understand that? What happens here will determine our existence!"  
  
"Squall, it isn't a problem . . ." Irvine defended himself and his girlfriend.  
  
"Damn it Irvine, IT IS a problem!" Squall shouted angrily at his friend. He became serious because of their situation, and adamantly stood up for the principles of SeeD, "Get your priorities straight. You will listen to me during this mission and completing our task ALWAYS supercedes everything else. You got that?"  
  
The swordsman with the heart of steel caused the Galbadia Garden sniper to snap to attention, "Sorry sir, didn't mean to upset you," Irvine was tired of the big man attitude Squall dragged along with him everywhere, but what could he do about it? Flashing his superior a sarcastic smirk, Irvine took his long, silver rifle from its holster and began loading shots into it. With a loud snap he pumped the first shot into the ammo chamber, "Locked and loaded sir, ready to go."  
  
"That's more like it," the cold-hearted leader took the high powered weapon that Irvine had presented him with and checked it out. After a quick run- through he handed the slick looking Exeter back to its owner," Now if you are ready, let's get this over with."  
  
Squall left Irvine alone and headed towards the final destination: Ultimecia's Door. Zell paced alongside his good friend and spoke up, "Dude, don't be so rough on him. We all make mistakes, right?"  
  
"Don't tell me how to do my job," Squall shot back angrily, "Are you ready? Let's get this mission done with already . . . I want to go home."  
  
Zell nodded in agreement, taking his leader's gesture as an invitation to kick the door as hard as he could. His first attack rattled the bulky hinges of the entrance and created a few cracks where his foot hit. On his second try, both of the huge mahogany doors fractured and splintered along the hinges. The powerful fighter wound up again for a backwards roundhouse kick and put all his weight into a final hit. It connected in the same place the first two attacks had and his foot exploded through the other side of the door. Zell feverishly pounded away at the remaining boards of jagged wood and cleared the way into Ultimecia's domain.  
  
He walked through the broken doorway, unaffected. Squall, Rinoa, and the other followed right behind his lead and were met with a nasty look from the sorceress of Time. Ultimecia stirred uncomfortably in her ornate throne, watching Squall's friends' every move as they walked before her. She tapped an aggravated finger on the armrest, showing her dislike of the intruders, "SeeDs! Kurse all SeeDs! The world is on the brink of the ever- elusive Time Kompression. There is no way for you to stop it . . . it is inevitable. I will kill you all for trying to oppose me!"  
  
They had heard it all before and were ready for it. If they waited and fought in threes, it would draw out and somebody could possibly get hurt. This battle called for a new strategy . . .  
  
"We can defeat her if we all attack at the same time," Squall ordered. He pointed to each group member and then motioned for them to take positions around the evil being atop her throne. The SeeDs used discretion to move and encircle Ultimecia so she didn't realize their tactic. It was easy to surround her, because the entire time she kept her stare locked solely on the leader, Squall. He was the general of this small army, and the general always leads the attack. Ultimecia knew that he was no different from the warriors that had tried to stop her in the past. Each of those masters of strategy had crumbled under her power, and Squall would do the same. She crossed her hands behind her back and hid her first attack from her assailants. Reddish-black flame swarmed around her fingertips and spiked out wildly. Ultimecia smiled confidently in her readiness and waited.  
  
With a tight grip of his sword and a sudden shift in focus, Squall began just as she thought he would. In one movement he put away his sword and turned his body to the side, outstretching his open hand towards his target. White swirls of wind were vacuumed towards Squall's body as he readied himself to summon the god of all guardians, Eden. His strain became apparent as his arms shook under the intense power transferring into his body from the mighty summon. It took every ounce of concentration in his body to maintain the focus needed for such an attack. Selphie quickly called forth the power of Bahamut, and Irvine tried to usurp her support with the hell flames of Ifrit.  
  
"No, no, no," Ultimecia teased as she moved her free hand's index finger back and forth. Her hidden hand swept through the air, creating a deadly mist that distorted space and time as it sought out the overpowered beasts being summoned by her assailants. The semi-solid spell impacted against Squall, causing him to stumble back and fall on his back. White flame consumed Ultimecia's left hand as she commenced a consecutive attack against Selphie whose summon was even further along than Squall's. Under such instantaneous conditions, the flame was drawn to her body like a moth to a flame and it sucked all of the life from the lord of dragons.  
  
The ground began to quake as both Squall and Selphie shook off the after effects of summoning. Irvine had managed to release the demon beast from the pits of hell and it was now breaking through the floor in the throne room. Ifrit's crooked, hardened horns poked through the stone and ripped it to shreds. When he was fully into their world, he leapt into the air and called forth a fiery boulder from his home with just a motion of his hands. The rock hovered a few hundred feet above the battle field with Ifrit not to far away from it, glowing and covered in an undying fire. Irvine watched on with amazement as the hell beast's roar spilled flames from its mouth and shook loose parts of the castle. Ifrit clasped his fists together and slammed the boulder with one mighty punch, causing it to barrel towards Ultimecia at an incredible speed. The trail of fire from the falling asteroid burned brighter the faster it fell and unleashed its wrath onto the sorceress.  
  
The classy, scantily clad witch turned her attention away from the fighters for merely a moment and let go wave after wave of magic from her palm. Her goddess-like magic ripped through the small terrestrial object and turned it into gravel before it could even touch her . . . It was fruitless. The summoned guardian force monsters never had a chance. Their power just couldn't stand up against that of the great sorceress.  
  
Burning with the rage of frustration, Zell recklessly jumped into the middle of the action, "Damn, enough of all this! We don't need to be playing with you!" The hand to hand fighter drew a Triple from his spell bank which sped up the recharge time on his magic and then cast Meteor. The atmosphere of the arena around everybody suddenly grew dark and mimicked the depths of outer space. Through the confusion of nebulae and clouds of gas, huge rocks fell sporadically around Ultimecia and against her body. She was pounded from left to right every few seconds in an endless barrage of meteors that drained on her energy. Her speed allowed her to miss some of them, but ultimately she was subdued by Zell's awesome attack. Ultimecia became temporarily weakened as she regained her strength and left her body open to whatever vicious attack Squall's group could think of.  
  
'This is it, THIS IS OUR CHANCE!' Squall thought to himself.  
  
"Finish her off before she gets back up!" Quistis told Squall as he shook off his earlier daze. Before he could process what was happening, Rinoa had cast Aura on him, blanketing his body in a warm golden glow. The spells effect soon took hold of his most primal emotions, causing his anger to surface without a hint of past wrong being done to his body. Countless techniques of the Renzokuken sword art filled his head now, but one repeated over and over again in his thoughts . . . Lionheart. Squall looked to his target with gleeful intent as his translucent blue sword glowed brighter with his fury. His eyes narrowed and muscles tightened as the sorceress queen got to her knees. Squall erupted forward from his standing position, seemingly flying across the ground to attack Ultimecia who had managed to catch a glimpse of this general coming to do battle with her.  
  
She held out her hand, trying to summon a quick spell to deter Squall, but he was too fast. His body seemed to fade in from left to right, making targeting his body impossible, and his speed was simply amazing. With a single upward slash, Squall detached the sorceress' arm at the elbow, and then knocked her body back with a trio of cuts to her abdomen and chest. She seemed to fall back in slow motion as the furious frontal attack continued. Squall's attacks came swifter and more precise, slicing deeper into her body from all directions before her body could land on the ground from the initial attack. The deadly combo was unavoidable, and with one final upward slash, Ultimecia's bloodied body was hit high into the air. The glow from Squall's body faded, and his hair settled as he walked away confidently that his job was done. The space behind him was empty, the throne obliterated, and long, deep gashes had been left in the stone floor. There were no screams, no moans of pain as Hyne's descendant slammed into ground creating a small crater. Ultimecia slumped against the destroyed throne room floor, wounded badly from Squall's finishing move and wholly defeated. The SeeD general could barely make out what she whispered to them next.  
  
"The most powerful GF" she breathed, coughing up blood, ". . . You . . . shall . . . SUFFER!" Ultimecia screamed aloud with renewed strength. She raised her dying body off the ground and hovered over the heroes. Dark, black blood seeped from the witch's wounds as she presented herself, totally defenseless, to the SeeD's.  
  
"Not again! I thought she was dead!" Irvine yelled.  
  
"Brace yourselves, you know what's coming next!" Rinoa added as a noise grew in the background.  
  
Deep rumblings started to shake the ground beneath everyone's feet and tiny fissures spread out from a central point underneath Ultimecia. Soon the small battlefield was turned into an unstable spiderweb of stone. They could see the horrible intent in Ultimecia's eye, they could see the hate that seemed to boil from within the sorceress' bloodshot eyes and blood covered face. White energy filtered out of the cracks in the earth and dispersed itself high into the air, but this was only a diversion. The real purpose of the light show was the horrendous monster it came from. Deep from within the broken castle it came, roaring and pounding the walls and supports of the fortress as it closed in on the battlefield. Its name was Griever, and in all its unheralded rage, it blasted through the delicate ground beneath Ultimecia and loomed ominously above everyone. The group was obviously unnerved. No matter how many times you see this horrible animal, you can never truly get used to its nastiness. The group had however beaten it before, and shook off their shock in a matter of moments.  
  
Noticing her friends' nervousness, Rinoa tried to keep the mood a bit lighter than what it was becoming, "Come on guys, he's nothing but a big grumpy pushover!" The young sorceress raised her arm to shoot her boomerang weapon, but her friend in the pink dress lifted her hand to halt her.  
  
"Something's not right here," Quistis pointed out as she grabbed her whip taught across her chest. Upon closer examination, she realized that the body of Griever had undergone drastic changes since their last encounter. Every part of the once tame looking beast seemed to have mutated and modified itself. Griever's two angelic wings had become leathery in appearance, almost bat-like with talons at the ends, and its skin was metallic black in color, as though it had fused with some unknown material from out of this world. What had caused the beast to gain these demonic features?  
  
Griever had transformed from a wild beast into the personification of the Angel of Death. Spikes and scales glimmered across its body, making its image even more intimidating and letting off a dark glow. Quistis approached the monster with reckless caution, still unsure of the power it might hold within. Before she could utter another syllable, Griever cocked back its head and roared as loud as its vocal cords could sustain. With alarming speed it twisted its body around and swung its tail towards the former teacher. Quistis countered the pre-emptive attack with a snap of her whip that connected across Griever's arm. A thin red line appeared where the attack had hit and the monster roared in annoyance at her attack. Quistis snapped her whip again towards the animal's maw to shut it up, but the beast somehow managed to grab the flail on the tip of Quistis' Save the Queen. She tried to yank it free from the monster's grasp, but Griever jerked the weapon forward, causing the light-weight SeeD professor to be flung forwards. For her stubbornness, she flew straight towards Griever. Quistis held fast to her weapon just as Griever had suspected and was set up for one nasty little trick.  
  
He threw his other fist forward and met Quistis' body straight on. Sickening crunches were heard from the impact as the blow shattered dozens of bones in her body and redirected her body back the other way. Paralyzed with pain and shock, she flew through one of the outlying windows of Ultimecia's throne room and crashed through a three foot thick stone wall, defying all laws of physics. Shards of glass had embedded themselves deep inside Quistis when she flew through the windows, gouging vital organs and cutting life giving arteries from her heart. Blood from the wounds flowed like water, creating a red pool on the ground beneath Quistis' body.  
  
There was no way she'd be continuing this fight, no matter how hard she tried to get back up. Her pink slip dress was in tatters, soaked with blood, and it took the sight of her own mangled body to give into the pain and fear. The tough exterior the teacher had shown her students was crumbling away. She cried tears of fear and called out to her friends with disconnected vocal cords. Clutching her slit throat, more tears fell from the corner of her eyes, mixing with blood. She was alone, unable to call out to the ones she loved and cared for. Life was slowly dripping away from her, and darkness was growing I her eyes. 'Is this . . . is this what death feels like? I'm . . . so cold, so scared . . .' Just as she slipped out of consciousness, her body crystallized and scattered. Divine winds came down from the heavens and blew her apart, sucking everything into a dark vortex.  
  
Rinoa began to run towards her fallen sister but Squall held fast and jerked her back. He lowered his head dejectedly and shook his head. Tears began to form before she knew it and she buried her face into the detached bomber jacket of her lover.  
  
"Quisty?!" Selphie said, blinking in disbelief, "QUISTY!!!"  
  
The sunken eyes within Griever's skull grew lighter in color, squinting as his twisted gaze looked for another victim. The eerie, turquoise hue emanating from his dark orbits burned with a new fire, much angrier and evil than before. The monster had changed . . . Griever had grown more powerful, more methodical . . . more intelligent.  
  
"There's no way this is the Griever we fought before," Irvine said, gripping the pump gauge on his shotgun tightly. He knew something but wasn't going to tell for fear of another new, horrible reality that god had dealt them. The last attack was full of malice and delight, emotions a beast doesn't have on its mind.  
  
"You're right," Squall agreed. Still waning in thought, Squall came to an epiphany, "that's because it's not Griever, that thing . . . it has to be Sephiroth."  
  
"What the hell!!!" Zell screamed, jumping back with a look of terrified amazement on his face, "How do you come to that conclusion?"  
  
Bowing his head down, searching his feelings, Squall replied, "I know those eyes . . . those cold, piercing eyes. When that blade of Sephiroth's sliced through my chest, he stared at me. There was no emotion in his eyes, no satisfaction. Our gazes locked in battle and all I felt was a soulless void," Squall told his friends. That look, that stare that drained his life from him . . . he'd never forget that, "I don't know what's going on. Cloud and the others, their actions must have changed this new reality. That maniac must have already merged with this world . . ."  
  
Squall was never allowed to finish his thought, in one heart dropping moment he let out another thunderous roar, readying his claws and showing his fangs in contempt. A chill went down everyone's spine as the roar gradually turned into a sadistical laugh. Their greatest fears were now realized.  
  
"Ha, ha, ha!" Griever laughed uncontrollably, smashing the floor with his fists and destroying the walls around his body with his tail. It was the last laugh you hear when an enemy knows that he will destroy you, an almost arrogant, content laugh that would serve as the harbinger of death for Squall and his friends. The floor trembled before this mutated beast, shaking away at the edges with each passing moment. Griever was compiling energy for his devastating Shockwave Pulsar technique, and at any moment all would perish from the planet.  
  
"Griever's new power is remarkable," Squall conceded," but that shouldn't keep us from finishing our job.  
  
"Right . . ." Rinoa replied, aiming her barbed boomerang, the Shooting Star at their enemy.  
  
As the others prepared themselves for their first encounter with the monster, Griever suddenly went quiet, letting only a hiss leak out amongst the whistling wind. The ground had stopped quaking, and everything became dead still . . .  
  
"What's . . . what is it doing?" Selphie hesitantly asked, grabbing her long nunchucku's handles hard.  
  
As though it was an answer to her query, Griever lifted both of his giant, clawed fists above his head and drove them into the ground in front of him. The shockwave traveled swiftly and discreetly underground before it revealed its true purpose. Immense quakes shook the battlefield, dislocating the ground around everyone into a much more personal combat arena. In a matter of no time, the group had been lifted high into the air, far above their beginnings at the castle entrance and to the throne room. Squall's and the others surroundings were now the gray, brooding clouds.  
  
The floating rock eventually came to a stop, and any feeling of safety was immediately disregarded when Griever started its all-out attack. Swiping madly at Selphie, the monster narrowly misses, allowing her to duck and roll out of the way and think of a quick counter attack. In one fleeting moment, Selphie's enchanted weapon sails out of nowhere and stings the face of Griever, its arms flailing from the sudden pain inflicted onto it. Seeking to exact its own revenge, the beast calls upon its greater powers, beckoning the living atmosphere around the battlefield to aid in the battle. The color of the clouds shift darker and seem to become heavier until they become rough puffs of empty black. Without warning a golden aggravation swarms in the bellies of each cloud, discharging deadly lightning onto the ground where the heroes stand. Multiple strikes pulverize the stone where Squall and Zell stood only seconds before, barely missing.  
  
Sprinting wildly to outrun the bolts of energy from the clouds, Squall and the others regroup together in front of Griever. The remaining warriors set up protective magic around their bodies to ward off any further damage from the lightning and poise themselves for an overdue counterstrike. During the confusion of spell casting and lightning strikes, Griever soars towards the heroes and takes another swipe at Selphie, this time his razor sharp claws mauling the girl's left side, spilling blood into the air and sending Selphie's body precariously flying towards the edge of the floating arena. She slides to a halt, churning up dirt as her fragile body slows itself down dangerously close to the rim of the giant boulder. Fumbling, clinging to whatever she could to keep from falling, Selphie inadvertently got closer to the beast that was stalking her. The evil monster gazed down at the disoriented SeeD almost amusingly as her friends ran from the other side to save her. The dazed girl from Trabia Garden managed to finally stand back up, only to be met by Griever's hot, rotting breath as it filled her nostrils. It bared its knife-like fangs in a show of power before preparing to strike.  
  
"IRVINE!! HELP ME!!" She helplessly cried out. Gripping her weapon tightly in front of her body in a defensive posture, Selphie braced herself for the next attack and waited for what seemed like an eternity for her knight in shining armor to arrive.  
  
"SELPHIE!!" Irvine screamed as Griever raised his claws high into the air. No matter how fast he ran, it didn't seem fast enough. Time slowed down, his feet and arms became heavy. Irvine could see it all happening as though he was outside of his own body. Squall, Rinoa and Zell were far behind, unable to match his speed. He watched himself unholstering his silver shotgun, filling its chamber with bullets at the speed of light. The flash of his barrel came next, small explosions coming one after the other as the bullets found their target. Each fiery piece of shrapnel hit their mark, ripping skin and bone away from Griever's shoulder, but still . . . in all his fury and marksmanship, the claws still came down onto Selphie. The beast's talons ripped through her weapon like paper, connecting with her body and forcing her over the edge. Her head slowly dropped below the horizon of the edge and her feet angled farther up with each second. Gravity took hold, pulling her down. With one bloody hand she reached for Irvine. His body tensed up, he suddenly felt cold with anxiety and fear.  
  
"NOOOO! SELPHIE!!!" Irvine painfully cried out as he reached the outskirts of the rock. He extended his hand as far as he could but missed her flailing leg by less than an inch. Nothing in Irvine's life was ever more horrible then what he had to watch. The girl he loved, the girl that loved him . . . falling, fading slowly into the clouds. He watched with dread as Selphie disappeared, all the while his eyes fixated on Selphie's horrified face. Her entire body cried out to him . . . yet he could do nothing. He was helpless to do anything to stop it and that helplessness began to tear him apart on the inside. She tried to say something to Irvine in her last moments, but through the clouds below the battlefield her cries became inaudible. The silence that followed was maddening. Irvine still gazed downward, retracting his outstretched hand from the edge. Slowly he stood up to his feet with his head still locked on the ground. With all resemblance of life gone from his tortured soul, Irvine turns towards Griever and lifts his head.  
  
Irvine's fragile little existence had just been thrown into the pits of hell.  
  
"Bastardddddd!!!" Irvine wails at the top of his lungs as he rips the Exeter out of the sling from with in his coat. With bravery you'd only see from a man facing certain death, the sniper jumps up the beast's body and onto the neck of his nemesis. His mind hell bent on vengeance, he starts pumping the animal's face full of burning lead. Blowing off the horrible abominations jaw and mouth first, Griever's cries become automatically muted. Its arms flailed in both pain and astonishment as Irvine valiantly grabs onto a horn and mercilessly shoots round after round into its increasingly demolished face. Blood covered the trench coat of the would-be savior of Selphie, soaking it quickly and turning it purple.  
  
A bullet tears through Griever's eyes, juices pour out of its orbits . . . chunks of skull and brain matter are dislodged and splinter into the wind. In a matter of moments . . . it's all over. Brain dead, every part of the monster shuts down. The body of the once vile and nasty Griever falls limp to the ground.  
  
Overcome by sadness and filled with sin, Irvine doesn't stop shooting. His bullets ran out some time ago, but his finger still pulled on the trigger with conviction, "Die you mother fucker . . . die . . . just die . . ." he whimpers.  
  
Empathetic to the pain, to the angst that Irvine must feel, Rinoa collapses in tears at the sight of her broken comrade. Zell finds it hard to deal with the hell that they are being put through.  
  
"Squall . . . I can't . . ." Zell fails to put his feelings into words, and instead squats to his knees and looks sadly to his friend that is in anguish.  
  
Squall lowers his head and shakes it unbelievingly, realizing the amazing loss of life they would all have to cope with when this is all over, "How . . . how did it all come to this? Why didn't you TELL US!? WHY!!"  
  
Irvine had since collapsed into the red pulp that remained of Griever, his sidearm lost inside a bloody carcass of a once mighty monster, "Without you . . . I am nothing. Without you, I don't exist . . ." he cries silently to himself. Streaks of tears pour from his eyes, collecting heavily on his chin. He lays in thought, deducing, contemplating. The others are standing back up, waiting for him, hoping to console him. He takes one look at his friends, his kind, understanding friends, and then one look at the edge.  
  
Irvine's mind was made up. Seconds later he feels the clouds against his face, the moist, cool air covering his body, and the thought of again being with Selphie. 


	10. Live Through

Chapter 10: Live Through  
  
The silver charm at the end of the SeeD leader's magnificent sword shone with wondrous brilliance as rays of light peaking through the heavy cloud cover reflected off of it. It was a glimmer of hope . . . a faint beam of truth for a man that was barely hanging onto his own sanity. Quistis, Selphie, and now Irvine . . . they were all dead. In one ferocious battle Squall had lost three soldiers, more importantly . . . three friends. His good friend Zell and beautiful soul mate Rinoa was all that remained. They were the last line of defense, the final resistance standing between tranquility and chaos.  
  
Squall found himself sitting down and thinking, his arms lay sadly on his sore bent knees. Griever's body had begun to vaporize, bubbling away the residual energy that the beast had stored inside its being. The life energy flamed up in a rainbow of colors, dissipating quickly into the surrounding area.  
  
Trying as she may, Rinoa's presence on his shoulder, softly sobbing for her friends, did little to move the stoic hero. As much as it pained her to see Squall like this, she knew he needed some time to cope with their murders in his own way. Zell found himself glancing over his shoulder, shaking his head in disbelief as the aftermath of the battle played itself out.  
  
"I won't take this sitting down," Zell said with a heavy heart, "She won't get away with this." He tried and tried, but even hard as a rock Dincht couldn't hold back the tears that came with his anger.  
  
Strong winds began to blow across the faces of the SeeD's as a powerful tornado picked up opposite of their location. Its harsh gusts screamed with the ghost of Ultimecia and sucked up the dispersed life forces of Griever and the sorceress' flesh into its funnel.  
  
"She's back . . . isn't she, "Squall asked, the fur on his jacket flickering with the winds from the growing gale. Wiping away the tears from her flustered face, Rinoa turned to face the new challenge that awaited the three of them. Whatever the odds she would finish their job. She would carry out the wishes of her fallen comrades and dare not shame their purpose on this battlefield.  
  
"Now you will feel the true power . . ." Ultimecia said as her magical essence came to life from within the twister. Hurtful beams leaked out through the wisps of air swirling and maintaining her existence, revealing to Zell and Rinoa a pure energy state, "I will junction myself unto Griever and realize the ultimate power meant for me!"  
  
Her ethereal body reached out to the remains of the beast, begging it to join with her. Ball lightning raced along the sky above her and shook the wills of the warriors with its thunder. Zell could feel the wind picking up, tugging at his stance as he bore the brunt of the hellish storm. The body of the demon beast lifted off the ground and quickly hovered around the eye of the tornado before being devoured into Ultimecia's essence. The storm ended as the sorceress assimilated Griever's power as her own, leaving Squall and his team to watch the gruesome transformation that came afterwards. Black electricity and red lightning jumped off her body sporadically, shocking the ground and flowing back into her evolving form. Even bigger discharges followed, blinding everybody momentarily and causing them to shield their fragile corneas. Cyclones of dust and discharged energy swirled around the area chaotically, blurring any sight of this new fighter. Squall found it within his power to once again stand back up and raise his sword alongside his comrades. There would be plenty of time to mope later . . .  
  
When the new target finally appeared, Zell had a few words of advice for his friends, "Aw shit . . ."  
  
The advanced form of the witch-beast was worse than before. This pseudo- Griever was absolutely brimming with power, so much that excess energy was converted into electricity and periodically discharged from its skin. The demon's massive claws dug into the ground and spewed forth rock and dirt as Ultimecia looked on from the core. Her body was reformed and fused into the new Griever's chest, acting as the brain to the deadliest creation in the universe. Reddish-purple horns grew off the wolf-like head of the beast and curved backwards as it readied for one last confrontation. When it bared multiple rows of razor sharp teeth as big as Squall's sword, they new they were in trouble.  
  
"Let it strike first, react to its movements!" Squall barked out to his remaining team, "Come on you piece of shit . . . show yourself," he breathed to himself, looking for signs of 'HIM'. "Get ready . . . " the beast began its approach, stomping along a straight line directly into the small resistance. The arms of Ultimecia pumped heavily as she controlled Neo Griever's body like an extension of her own. Her hair color flashed silver for a moment, and Squall instantly knew.  
  
He was about to inform the others when everything suddenly went horribly wrong. No one could even blink an eye, but in a flash the monster reached out and snatched Zell quicker than anybody could react.  
  
'Nothing that big should be able to move that fast . . . it's not possible.' Squall thought to himself as he jumped out of the way, pulling Rinoa down with him as the other arm sailed down and crushed the place she had just been standing at.  
  
Zell was stuck in a merciless deathgrip, the monster wasting no time to eliminate a fourth member of Squall's team. His bones began to break apart, his tendons snap as the fist closed like a huge vice around his torso, "Get your god damned hands off me!" he screamed in agony. The punches he threw grew weaker and weaker against the monster's hand, causing the beast to tighten its grip even more. "Arrggghh!" Zell cried out as felt organs rupture all through his body. He could feel each fiber of his body giving in. Soon his insides would break through his skin out of his sides and he would die. This wasn't how he had planned it . . . this wasn't how he wanted to go. Not in the hand of a mutated abomination, not without a chance to fight . . . All was lost.  
  
Zell was too weak to fight off the strain and went limp in the beast's hand as he lost consciousness. He knew the final blow would come, and he awaited it. He actually preferred it now instead of all this pain, this suffering. Let it all end . . . he wanted to see his friends again. The monster gleefully raised its hand, and Ultimecia was focusing her energy into its fist when it happened.  
  
A miracle sent from God . . . a rusty, corroded miracle at least. A bulky anchor cut through the air at high velocity, whistling straight towards Ultimecia's fused form. It stung deeply into the exposed flesh under the raised arm and pinned the wrist against its ribcage. The monster roared in surprise as it struggled to free itself, causing it to scream in agony even more. A man of few words, one that wore a plain white tank top, baggy pants and a navy bandanna came to Zell's rescue. Ward had saved the day. He smiled and walked up to the injured feral beast as it reeled backwards, catching Zell as he was let of by Griever.  
  
"W . . . Ward?" Zell mouthed.  
  
The man shook his head as to say 'Don't worry about it,' and quickly ran back towards an opening in the fabric of this dimension. Ward flashed him a warm smile and took them both away from the front lines as fast as his legs would carry them.  
  
"Ward!?" Rinoa uttered in disbelief as he disappeared into a wormhole with a battered Zell, "then that means . . ."  
  
"Laguna, Kiros!" Squall jerked forward as two other figures leapt through the open portal that seemed to exist only as a dream. As soon as they were through, it closed and vanished like it never had even been there. The gate had served its purpose and collapsed onto itself by shrinking into a speck of light, creating a small flash before disappearing completely.  
  
The man with the automatic machine gun, long black hair and carefree attitude was Laguna, president of Esthar and leader of the revolution against the sorceress. The other was his right hand man, Kiros, complete with sharp blade daggers that acted as long extensions of his knuckles. Rinoa would have rushed to greet and hug them, but instead prepared a spell for the flailing demon beast.  
  
"Need some help?" Laguna asked Squall as he fumbled with his gun and removed the safety. Pointing it steadily at Neo-Griever as it tugged at the embedded weapon in its chest, he awaited a response.  
  
"Always at the last minute as always," Squall quipped as he barely acknowledged Laguna's assistance.  
  
"It all works out in the end, trust me," the President replied as he unloaded a round of armor piercing bullets into the Ultimecia core. Chunks of flesh sprayed from its body as the ammo mercilessly ripped through Griever's chest.  
  
Still locked in a life of death struggle with the anchor, the monster painfully tried to yank out the jagged metal from the infected wound, leaving Kiros and Laguna to start their assault. Blasting ferociously at the monster, President Laguna managed to force it to stagger backwards, watching as it alternated between blocking the storm of bullets with an arm and tugging at the anchor. They would keep forcing the horrific abomination back until it tumbled off the island of rock they fought on. That was the plan at least . . . but before Kiros could even deal any damage to Ultimecia, the beast regained its foothold and powered up its defense, deflecting any new attack.  
  
Angry and frustrated Ultimecia swung downwards, narrowly missing Laguna's right hand man only to create a massive crater where her fist hit. Kiros rolled and flipped from the increasing frequency of deathblows and quickly made his way back to Laguna and Squall's side.  
  
Squall had yet to engage his enemy in combat, leaving the others in a dire situation. Rinoa loaded up her launcher and fired her boomerang at Neo Griever, watching as it sailed through the air and left a bloody gash straight across the demon beast's right arm.  
  
"We could really use some help here Squall!" Kiro's yelled, irritated at the boy's indecisiveness.  
  
A laser beam shot out of a bit released by Ultimecia's body, searing the ground with it's heat as it honed in on the group's location.  
  
"Watch out!" Laguna screamed as he pulled Squall away from an attack that would have surely killed him.  
  
As he lay on the ground, covered in dirt and stuck in a daze, pieces of an omniscient vision flooded his thoughts. Painful flashes ensued, seeing a glimpse of Ward as he placed Zell onto the ground next to the shadow of another body. Again a shock through his temples occurred, and he saw the body of Quistis, moving but hovering near the threshold of death. Tifa was there too, a huge amount of blood splattered all over her tight shirt. So much suffering, so much death . . . why did he need to see this? Wincing, he got to his knees and the visions stopped. The familiar voice that he had heard from seemingly days ago comforted the SeeD leader, 'I have your friends here, they are safe for the moment. You must work quickly . . . there isn't much time.' There was a hint of hopelessness in the voice's words. If he failed now, there wouldn't be a future for his comrades, or for any of them.  
  
The hailstorm of bullets weren't even penetrating the barrier around Ultimecia now. The hardened cylinders of metal and gunpowder merely grazed harmlessly off the sorceress beast's skin, allowing it to focus solely on excavating the rusted object from its body. Gripping the base of the anchor firmly, Griever's monstrous arms finally wrenched the weapon from its side. Snarling in pain, it roared in defiance of their attacks, causing strong gushes of blood to spurt out of the open wound. The blood-encrusted anchor soon found itself in between the massive paws of the beast, the metal shrieking as Griever flexed its muscles and bent the weapon in half. With one hand it nonchalantly threw it to the side, glad to be rid of the temporary nuisance. Laguna's gun had fallen silent, and Rinoa's weapon and magic were losing their effectiveness.  
  
Four . . . four on one huge, greatly mutated power beast. The position of the heroes in this battle soon worsened as the victim of earlier attacks now went on the offensive, charging at everybody with a sick, malicious fervor.  
  
"Ahh Crap," Laguna said as the beast charged full speed towards the group. Its weighted feet pounded the ground, creating small quakes with each push closer to Squall and Laguna. They were all being hunted . . . hunted by a feral animal starving for revenge. In one mad waylay it would pounce on its prey and then proceed to eat it, tearing off tendon and sinew with its fangs while its meal still breathed.  
  
Kiros had already started a retreat with Rinoa in tow, getting her out of harms way as Laguna and Squall stood their ground, "I sure hope you're ready for this," Laguna tensely said, sweat forming over his forehead.  
  
Squall shifted his weight back and forth anxiously as the beast closed in before responding, "Old man, you're better off worrying about yourself. Leave this all to me . . ."  
  
In the last few hundred yards the demon picked up speed, coming at the two with amazing agility. Its fangs bared and claws poised to slice them in two, the estranged father and son held their ground. They waited until the last possible second to tumble out of its path, Laguna going to the right while Squall dashed to the left with his sword ready to sting. He swung the Lionheart with all his might, tripping the animalistic sorceress and sending her unbalanced body tumbling near the edge of the floating battlefield. Kiros jumped at the monster's face to strike but was flat- handed to the ground like a rag doll as the beast immediately got back up to its feet. It left him there, bones broken and all without the slightest inclination to kill Kiros. The target wasn't any of them though . . . it was after Squall.  
  
The ground shook beneath Squall's feet as he raised his transparent blue blade Lionheart to its ready position. By going from the pattern of attacks that had preceded it, the Ultimecia surmised that Squall would try to defend or counterattack the next maneuver she made. Much angrier than before, the sorceress beast blindly charged after her prey, letting down all defenses in favor of one, final strike. The brave warrior leader drew upon the beast's fury, making it his own. With a defiant look Squall let the Lionheart fall to his side helplessly. He grinded his teeth together and dropped one leg back as he collected all the energy he could into one hand. The strain on his cerebellum as he focused his mental energy into one spell was unbearable. His head felt like it was going to explode at any moment, but as soon as the downward arc of Ultimecia's attack began, Squall unleashed a devastating defense.  
  
"Everybody DOWN!" Squall yelled as hundreds of blue and pink strands of light emanated from ground and compiled over and over again into his fist. He snapped his fist forward, opening it to reveal a beautiful emerald light that caught everyone off guard . . . especially Ultimecia. The green blast erupted like a mushroom cloud around Squall, illuminating the dark monster in its glow before blasting it off the ground. The blast zone continued to spread upwards and outwards, pummeling Neo Griever's body with its might while it flailed backwards uncontrollably into the air. Its own clawed attack had come within mere inches from hitting its target before the drastic transfer of power.  
  
The other sorceress was the first to appear out of the olive colored mist left behind from the attack to offer aid. Raising her hands above her head, Rinoa pulled upon the cosmic powers of Meteor. The sky above them suddenly darkened and the clouds parted, leaving only the magnificence of the stars to light the battlefield. In the peaceful calmness of the night sky, thunderous boulders began to rain down from heaven. Fiery objects of stone and metal fell downwards, striking Ultimecia with burning indifference and causing her body to rocket back towards the hovering theatre of war.  
  
They all watched with anticipation as Griever's carcass smoked and bubbled from the consecutive Ultima and Meteor assaults. The sorceress landed with a satisfying impact that caused an instant, if only temporary, dust storm.  
  
As the smoke and dirt cleared, a recovering Kiros saw an opportunity to use his limit break on their dazed enemy. Kiros pushed himself as hard as he could, popping muscles and fighting the feeling to pass out as he covered the 200 feet of ground between himself and the beast. Kiros leapt into the air effortlessly, his braided hair flipping in the wind as he landed behind Griever's head. He started his attack immediately, pulling his serrated blades close to his body before unleashing a deadly slash to the back of his enemy's neck. The monster howled in anguish as the wound widened, oozing blood down the side and over its arms. With ninja like speed and accuracy, Kiros dashed over the enormous fiend's body and charged up with as much power possible to slash downwards over its face, blinding it. His attacks just kept coming in a hidden fury, undetectable by Ultimecia but very debilitating.  
  
The others were already charging for one final fray when the nimble swordsman found the delicate giant's soft underbelly. With two swift movements he sliced open the outer layer of skin, causing the fresh flesh to split open and spill the beast's insides into a heap on the ground.  
  
"Take it out before it can recover!" Kiros ordered as his teammates rushed into the battle. He jumped off of the beast as it seemed to awaken from a nightmarish dream, his job done. Neo Griever resisted defeat as best it could, pushing itself off the ground once more, but a well-timed Meltdown from Rinoa floored the already weakened colossus and ripped the torn skin on its stomach further apart. The gaping hole pulsed with hatred as it tried to heal shut, but it was all in vain. The junctioned Griever writhed in unheard of pain but couldn't seem to move an inch because of the increasing injuries mounting all over its body. Squall sheathed his sword at his side and walked fearlessly up to the evolved Griever's now incapacitated body. Their victory had been completed. It didn't come from some voice . . . it didn't come from the heavens . . . it came from sheer determination to live. Readying a Flare, Rinoa and Squall held their hands tauntingly over the beast's eviscerated stomach.  
  
"Stay dead this time," Rinoa joked, relieved to be done with it all finally.  
  
Two warm orbs of fire grew in both of their hands and flew into the open wound, causing small recoil in both their arms. With his left hand, Squall quickly cast Firaga and aimed it straight inside Griever's bowels. The spells whined and cackled as they were muffled by the insides of the beast which began to boil. Hollow thumps could be heard as the explosions from the attacks reacted adversely to the organs inside the animal, frying it from the inside out. When the spells reached critical mass, the belly of the monster expanded well beyond its regular dimensions and burst. Squall walked away coldly as the rest of Griever's body caught fire and melted into inorganic goo. It had come into their world as nothing, and had left the same way.  
  
"Is this all you got!!" Squall passionately yelled, fed up with the living hell he was in," You think we'll quit because you killed our friends? I'll take you on myself you coward! COME ON! SHOW YOURSELF! SHOW US YOUR TRUE FORM . . . your ULTIMATE form, Ultimecia!"  
  
It is said that the victors are the ones that write history, but today those that lost were given a second chance. Squall and the others are the new victors now . . . and they are well on their way to rewriting history. 


	11. Betrayal

Chapter 11: Betrayal  
  
"Hey!" Squall's voice echoed into the clouds above. He was beginning to challenge the decision the all-powerful voice had made for them. Was this war theirs for the fighting, or was it a holy war where they were all being used as nothing more than pawns? "What the hell are we supposed to do now? Huh? Show me the meaning to this massacre . . . give a purpose to my friends' deaths!"  
  
The sky reverberated with hundreds of thunderclaps in answer to Squall's request. Light from this world was disappearing, causing the air to grow increasingly cold. His frustrated words resounded through the heavens, bouncing from cloud to cloud in search for somebody, ANYBODY to listen. The brash young man wasn't expecting his plea to be answered, but five mighty bolts of lightning struck the ground nearby, shaking the already fragile, floating battle zone. Slightly unnerved, Squall turned away from the blasts as shards of rock flew past his face. The dust of the falling rocks cleared away to reveal a welcome sight to the surviving three SeeDs. Cloud, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, and Vincent appeared before him, each looking haggard and distraught from their previous battle, but they too were equally pleased to see their comrades still alive.  
  
Squall glanced over to them, showing a fake grin, trying to hide the fact that they had lost almost everybody in the fight to defeat Ultimecia and Griever. He felt somewhat nervous wanting to ask and find out how the whole thing had went with Cloud, but the absence of Nanaki and Tifa told him everything. He feared the worst and instead walked away.  
  
Both Laguna and Kiros had wandered over to the others, introducing themselves and were about to help them to their feet when Squall asked, "How'd it go?"  
  
Cloud stared blankly back at Squall and refused to answer; he only shook his head in disdain. Seeing her leader's contempt for others, Yuffie spoke up, "She wasn't all you had told us . . . we weren't prepared to fight the type of power Adel had . . . or Seifer. "  
  
"Seifer?" Rinoa's voice perked up with an instant interest.  
  
Yuffie nodded in answer, "he killed Tifa . . ." The ninja couldn't contain her tears and began to break down right in front of everybody, her body heaving with each heavy sob. "He cut her up, stabbed her, and . . . AND-" There was no way she could continue. Cid stood close to the young woman and put his arms over her shoulder, trying to comfort the fragile shinobi who had known Tifa so well.  
  
Rinoa, on the other hand, shook her head in disbelief, "No! That can't be possible! Not Seifer . . . he wouldn't do something like that!" She held her hand to her mouth in surprise as her cheeks reddened and eyes welled with tears.  
  
"WELL HE DID, ALRIGHT?" Cloud screamed at Rinoa. How dare she show remorse for that maniac, how dare she care more about him than his beloved Tifa! "That murderous bastard killed Tifa in cold blood and allowed Adel to destroy Red in the process, so he is and WAS fully capable of doing it!" The ex-soldier grew irritated with the constant mourning and sobbing around him and lashed out, "Everybody just shut up!"  
  
Barret came up from behind Cloud and got him in a bear hug before he could hurt anybody, "Calm down buddy, it's not their fault. Take it easy foo, k?" The belligerent SOLDIER struggled for a few moments before easing his tense muscles and becoming relaxed. They needed a leader, one with a cool head and understanding . . . not one full of regret and hate. They all just looked at him with caring, understanding eyes. They wanted to help him overcome this dreadful day. Their looks forced him coming to terms again with the dire situation, faster than he would have liked.  
  
"We gotta win this final battle . . . " Cloud pleaded, looking to the ground, "The others . . . we have to do it for them . . . even for Seifer."  
  
"H-He's dead? You killed him? HOW COULD YOU!" Rinoa screamed as her emotions took over. She ran towards Cloud as fast as she could and slapped him straight across the face. His cheek grew red almost instantly but he looked at Squall's girlfriend, unmoved and unaffected. His eyes were cold and glazed with sudden abhorrence for the young sorceress. Something happened, something stirred inside him when she slapped him. It was the same feeling he had back in the Northern Crater . . . before the Reunion. For just a moment, he lost all control of who he was.  
  
The slap was shaken off and the feeling subsided almost instantly, leaving Cloud to defend his actions once more, "He was infected by Adel's evil, there was nothing we could do. He would have killed us all . . . I'm sorry Rinoa."  
  
"LIAR! He was always just joking . . . he didn't mean it," she trailed off, falling to her knees.  
  
There were few moments of silence as everybody came to terms with the new developments. Many began to hold the same doubts that Squall had about fighting this war against a foe they barely knew. They wondered how one objective could be worth so many lives of their friends? If only they had been told the truth from the beginning, perhaps they wouldn't be in the situation they are now. It was too late to turn back, too late to run. They were past the halfway point, and had to see this to its conclusion.  
  
"What happened? Where's everybody else?" Cid asked Squall, trying to keep Cloud from dwelling on Tifa's death any longer.  
  
"Look around you. Take a good look . . . Rinoa and I are all that is left of the original group. I'm already tired of all this, I'm tired of seeing death, being surrounded by it. As long as I have breath in my lungs, I won't let anybody else will die today," Squall told Cid. They clasped hands in friendship, forming a pact to make sure that the SeeD's words held true. However, the compassion both teams once had for each other was starting to fall apart. They doubted one another's abilities, their trust of support was thinning . . . the screaming and blaming was tearing their fellowship apart faster than their foes had done.  
  
Yuffie felt a sudden chill take over her body as the air temperature around everybody dropped dramatically. Barret suddenly spoke, his words frozen as they steamed out of his mouth, "It ain't over just yet . . ."  
  
Everyone soon turned their heads toward the remains of the monster to see what he was talking about. The corpse released a white mist from within, causing the skin to glow white. It pulled in the heat and light from the surrounding area, never stopping until the floating island had been turned into a frigid vacuum.  
  
Unexpected jolts surged through the deceased body, causing beams of white and black light to shoot out in all directions. As the brilliance of the light intensified, only Vincent could look on at the marvelous event. His dead eyes were unaffected by the glorious fireworks coming from the beast. The dead Turk stared dumbfoundedly into the cocoon of deadly light forming above the battlefield, watching the body of the dead beast melt away as a supreme being sprung to life from within.  
  
But things of beauty are never eternal. As soon as it had begun the light ceased, leaving white specks of magic powder to drift lazily over the group that had gathered underneath. The mass of excess magic falling to the ground felt like the first cold breeze of winter, but with the putrid scent of rot mixed in. It bit at the warriors, slowly draining the strength away from them that was given to them by warmth.  
  
The sky darkened all around with the blowing of wind, and out of nowhere it became black as night. A new and improved Ultimecia rose above all that would oppose her like a dark phoenix, casting the only light over the ground from a ball of quasitime located where her face should be. She was the only source of light now . . . of time even. Time itself slowed down in the presence of this evil goddess and the sun shied away it's powerful rays. The sphere of light, a mirror of time, could see far into the future and even deeper into the past. Her massive glow lit up the whole area in light that was a mix between dawn and dusk.  
  
Through the darkness, the remaining fighters encircled their enemy, "Let's get this over with," Cloud burned as drew his sword, "I have a promise I need to keep . . . "  
  
"I am . . . Ultimecia," She said with arms calmly at her side, "Time SHALL compress . . . all existence . . . denied."  
  
With that she raised her head to reveal her face had been replaced entirely by the sphere of subtime. It lay like an orb fixed on the top of a pedestal, firmly in place. She increased its power to search the surroundings like a spotlight would and found her first victim. With a nod Ultimecia locked in her attack and lifted her arm above, summoning fiery balls of hell-fire into her hand.  
  
"Die"  
  
The orbs released like a swarm of bees, covering the field with mighty explosions as they hit near their targets. The battle had begun with little fanfare, sending everybody into action right away. Both Squall and Cloud readied their swords and started to charge their opponent, but it would be Kiros and Yuffie that dealt the initial blows.  
  
"This is for Tifa!" Yuffie screamed as she used her Gauntlet limit break on the unholy being, striking at Ultimecia tirelessly with the giant shruiken, Conformer. Each blow she landed on the entity sent huge recoil through her weapon and caused a rainbow colored geyser of channeled energy to rise up from the ground. The shockwave of each hit forced the ninja backwards, but unfinished in her task she jumped back into the action over and over. The colorful cylinders of light continued to erupt around the enemy, creating open holes for attack each of the magic waves dissipated. Kiros jumped in between Yuffie's attacks, slashing at Ultimecia's body repeatedly with the sharp knives he held in each hand.  
  
The sorceress caught on quickly to their tactics, dodging left and right as the skirmish neared its conclusion. Kiros knew something was wrong, his potential deathblows missing more frequently as Yuffie's attack subsided. He saw the shinobi pull back, catching her breath after her initial onslaught.  
  
'Get out of here girl, I'll hold this bitch off,' Kiros thought to himself as he tried to keep track of the counterattacks coming his way.  
  
Too late . . .  
  
The sorceress fought back as both fighters wore themselves down, casting her fist into the ground. The earth beneath the two fighters bubbled and vomited violently, sending them flying out of control into the air. They landed roughly on the ground thirty feet away, their bodies coursing with pain. Ultimecia instantly recovered her wounds, using a dazzling display of magic that coated her entire body. The technique had never been seen by the eyes of Squall and his friends before, but the reality of this battle became all too dire to those that did recognize it . . . Bizarro Energy.  
  
"Ahhh shit," Cid cursed, grabbing his spear tightly getting ready to fight.  
  
"This ain't looking too good," Barret said, raising his gun-arm to fire.  
  
"We were told to expect something like this, it is just as the voice had feared," Laguna informed everybody, "Before we left limbo, it had told us to get to you guys as fast as possible. We've taken too long in getting rid of her Squall. The tear in the universe has started. Her body is pulling those that would live again into her . . .  
  
If we don't stop her now, this will get worse . . . a lot worse. The rip is becoming ever larger due to Sephiroth's and Ultimecia's strong will. They are like magnets, pulling each other together and they will fully junction in no time. We most stop thinking about just killing her and focus on containing this rip, okay?"  
  
"She must have close to godlike power now," Vincent revealed to everyone," No one, not even us has ever gone up against such a huge power before. This is bigger than the sorceress, even bigger than Sephiroth was," he hung his head down, putting his deadly rifle to his side," We shouldn't even be here. Our powers are insignificant in front of a god . . . "  
  
"But we must try," Rinoa interrupted, "We can't give up, not yet."  
  
During all this time, Ultimecia had regained her full power, bringing her total ability far above that which anybody had ever seen before. Her body brimmed with radical power, the excess energy escaping into the near area of the sorceress' body to create an impenetratable shield.  
  
"We are witnessing the birth of a god . . ." Vincent declared to his allies.  
  
"Screw 'dat bullshit Vince! She can't be dat strong! Let's see how she deals with Ultima!" Barret huffed as the spell exploded from his body and slammed into its target, enveloping Ultimecia in atomic green mist. With a bright light, the mist ignited and turned the area into cosmic dust. It took only moments to see the consequences of Barret's haste . . .  
  
Ultimecia had felt the affect of the hit almost immediately. Her body split apart as a countermeasure to disperse the damage, which then immediately led to the drawing of Apocalypse, a destructive spell more powerful than that of even Ultima . . . Without hesitation even for her own safety, she cast it. Yuffie and Kiros were still recovering when the spell erupted outwards from Ultimecia's body, its heat already upon them by the time they turned and stared into its magnificent glare. Their eyes wide, their cries drowned out by the thunderous roar of the attack, the two heroes were swallowed whole by it.  
  
Yuffie's mouth opened and screeched shrilly in pain as she raised her weapon as the only means of defense. Seconds later Kiro's and herself were disintegrated into dust.  
  
"DAMN IT!" Cloud said with anxiety as the wave of death drove closer to their position after eliminating two of his friends. This was the first time anyone had seen a worried look on his face. He could usually collect himself and show everyone how brave of a leader he was, but in the face of the chaotic storm of Apocalypse he broke down," I don't have enough magic to cast a Shield!"  
  
Those that were left scurried through their packs for a mega-elixir or anything to help Cloud with, but they came up empty. He was lucky to even have such a spell to ward off such damage. Rinoa and Squall would surely die without any protection.  
  
"Everybody get behind me, I can cast a shield around all of us!" Cid screamed as he waved for everybody to gather behind him."  
  
"No! That won't work! We'd be left with nothing to defend ourselves after it subsided!" Vincent yelled, getting everybody's attention. He walked past everybody, closer to the spell as it accelerated over the open, rocky plain. The brilliant Turk was thinking of something else, but his time was running short.  
  
The earth was no barrier to Apocalypse as it ate through the mix of dirt and stone, spewing it sideways off the floating island into clouds of dust. The intense heat of the death wave eroded the ground away molecule by molecule and kept getting closer. Rocks separated from the ground were floating in front of the attack and had been forced to launch themselves away from Apocalypse or be destroyed. Now not only was a devastating magic attack heading towards Squall and the others, but a sky full of boulders too. Everyone tried to come up with a solution of their own as they dodged the swell of oncoming debris.  
  
"If you have an idea, say it NOW!" Squall screamed while using his sword to slice through a ten foot boulder.  
  
"Well we can't block the blast . . ." Vincent started before being interrupted by Squall.  
  
"Then we'll blow Apocalypse right back at her!" Squall yelled out.  
  
"It should work! Everyone use Ultima now!" Cloud ordered desperately as he cast Ultima, draining away the last of his magic reserves. Cid used it alongside with Vincent in hopes that it would work. Each of the first three titanic blasts hit the Apocalypse wave, creating a hurricane of debris in the void between them, but it didn't slow it down much at all. Cloud grimaced as he put everything he had behind this final attack, hoping beyond all hope that a miracle could happen, even after a day that had tested his faith and caused him to doubt it. Squall and Rinoa quickly added in Ultimas of their own which pounded the seemingly unstoppable blast, slowing it down considerably from before. Each spell fought right back at the oncoming blast, but it still just smiled at them and crawled even closer. Two were left now. Laguna feverishly used Ultima as well, thinking the plan should have negated the attack by now, but Apocalypse was still inching towards them. A mix of red and green space magic had crested at the top of each terrible wave which had reached a stalemate, but all that each Ultima had accomplished was to vaporize the small boulders in between the waves.  
  
Ultimecia would wait no longer. It would not sit back and be amused by the pitiful attempt any longer. She would put an end to this right now . . . she would destroy the universe. The lower half of Ultimecia cut itself from the floating top, spewing purple blood from it's spine as the top half flailed and recovered. It now existed as a separate entity, and it had only one thought on its mind; shift the power in Ultimecia's favor. All that was needed was one more on either side, and it would all be over.  
  
"Can't . . . do this . . . much . . .longer," Cid said as sweat beaded down his face. He bit down hard onto his cigarette, causing some of the tobacco to spill out the front. His Ultima wave still was in front of him, fighting against the other equally powerful energy blast that sought to destroy them. He waited impatiently, just like all the others in his same situation for the last person to cast it, "Barret?! What the hell are you waiting for? C'mon already!"  
  
His eyes were locked in a cold stare through the semi-transparent wall of flickering Ultimas, "It won't work, she won't let it" He suddenly ran off, into the center of everything.  
  
"WHAAAAAT?!" Cid reacted badly to this, "What the hell- WHERE are you going?" He almost took his focus away from the blast but realized his error and kept on pushing forward, bracing his foot to push, "Damn it Barret, don't go off and get yourself killed . . ."  
  
Most of the combatants were being forced to inch backwards a few steps at a time in order to ward off the intense heat of the wave which had begun to approaching them again. Squall and the others could only stare in shock as the burly black warrior sprinted into the middle of the blast, diving in with no other protection except for an ill-conceived WALL spell. It would give him ten seconds at best, but then . . .  
  
"I'm done!" Vincent yelled as his spell used up all of its kinetic energy and was close to being negated.  
  
"Me, too," Cloud said as the rest of Ultima directed away from his body. All the others followed in having cast Ultima and slowly retreated backwards towards the edge of the dark cliff, "Barret! Get back here! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"  
  
The lower half of Ultimecia was extremely close now and had noticed Barret's body trying to force his way into the epicenter of it all. It changed its path and now came directly at him.  
  
'That's it baby, I know you want it. Come on . . . Come on' Barret counted the time left to himself in his head, he knew that this would be painful, but that's the only way it would work. He raised his gun-arm, getting the other part of Ultimecia in his sights as it floated towards him too now, 'Just a little longer . . . just a little more . . .' The land beneath his body was dropping away, leaving him with no footing, but just when he thought his plan to be failed, it happened.  
  
The mechanisms in his gun-arm spurred to life, whirring and whistling as compartments opened up and extra gun barrels came out of the main turret. Barret's gun began to shake violently, out of control as the spinning gyro inside whizzed around and around. He could feel the heat building, the power surging . . . the true power of Catastrophe was best used for a last resort . . . and this was one of those times.  
  
"Yeah bitch . . . TAKE THIS!" the leader of Avalanche jumped backwards with all his might, sending his body high into the air far above the standstill below him. Barret looked down, holding his gun sight directly at the middle of the Ultima wall his friends had created. Both the top and bottom half had converged on his location just on the other side, setting them up perfectly.  
  
The end of Barret's gun-arm blew off as a massive blast erupted from it. The shot from his gun widened radically from the point of his barrel to twenty feet in diameter, knocking his body up into the air even farther from its horrible recoil. The first blast hit the wall and immediately pushed it back into Ultimecia, sending both scurrying away as fast as they can. Another blast wave suddenly came from the broken Missing Score gun on Barret's arm, tearing off his arm with its insane recoil. His body fell from the sky as the second blast came out twice the size of the first, ripping through the wall and hitting both Ultimecia's.  
  
The blast was overpowered easily a mere foot away from Cid's face, causing his cigarette to be singed in the process. The tides had been turned against the evil sorceress as the Apocalypse and six Ultimas gained momentum towards her. Barret's limit break tore chunks of flesh away from their body, stripping away any barriers between them and what awaited them.  
  
"No. . . NOO! " She gasped aloud as the inferno caught up with her engulfed both bodies with its tremendous blast, "NOOOO!!"  
  
Squall looked on as the massive wall of death found its true target. Each wave ripped through her like a paper doll, causing the sorceress to flail around in torment. Ultimecia could only scream in anguish as each wave passed through her, tearing her limb from limb as the power to defend herself grew less and less. Flesh was ripped from bones, muscles fused together, and her insides boiled as the next shockwave ripped her arms out of their sockets and sent the destructive energy directly into her delicate face. With one last Ultima following the others, the delicate balance of time that existed in her facial sphere collapsed and exploded inwards, ripping her apart inch by inch as time compressed into her own body. As her body was vacuumed bit by bit into different times in space, a final cataclysmic explosion occurred and blew away what was left of her frail and tortured existence. The escaping power caused her body to turn into ashes and scatter with the returning wind. The battlefield was again silent, this time for good. Half of the arena was missing, and the ground underneath the surviving members was rapidly deteriorating. With Ultimecia's magic gone, there was nothing holding it afloat. The giant rock face shifted to the left, causing everybody to slip and lose grip as they slid off the side.  
  
"Help me Squall!" Rinoa screamed as she slid out of control, Squall was too far away to grab her, but Cloud managed to reach out and hold onto her as they fell through the sky on top of an atmospheric asteroid. Using their weapons and other means, everybody held on for dear life as they rocketed towards the ground far below.  
  
Barret was above them, falling at the same rate of speed but unconscious from his selfless act. It was already hard enough to get out of this situation before they hit the ground, so how could they save Barret? The rock fell through clouds at a terrifying speed, dissipating the puffs of water molecules as they crashed into one after the other. The wind was passing over their faces with incredible force, pulling their hair and clothes back onto their bodies.  
  
The clouds suddenly broke beneath them, and they could see their world below them, far off in the distance. It was beautiful. The sun had finally cut through the dark clouds surrounding what had been Ultimecia's castle, and the survivors of this time period could finally return to peace. The ground approached, they had completed their mission and their worlds would be saved, but it would be at the cost of their own lives.  
  
Rinoa took in a deep breath and said to Cloud, "We did it."  
  
"Yes. We did it . . ." Cloud replied.  
  
They closed their eyes and fell into a deep sleep before they hit the ground.  
  
When they awoke, they found themselves sprawled out somewhere on the Esthar plains, the city far off in the distance. They were back in Squall and Rinoa's time, safe and without any battles for once.  
  
One by one they stood up, questioning each other whether it was truly over or not. When it became evident that they had succeeded, everyone erupted into cheer and celebration. The last remnants of the battle faded from their short-term memory, seeming like nothing more than a waking dream. The pent up happiness was finally realized, and everybody hugged each other, shaking hands with those that had fought along side them through thick and thin. They had saved their future as they knew it, and had a second lease on life. If only their friends were there to enjoy it with them . . .  
  
"You lucky bastard, you knew something like this was gonna happen, didn't you?" Cid laughed as he helped Barret to his feet.  
  
"No, not really, "Barret responded as dryly and sudden as ever, "Jus' knew what I had to do."  
  
Cid gave him a puzzled look, "Right . . . sure you did," he laughed wholeheartedly and patted his comrade on the shoulder.  
  
As the two friends erupted in laughter, not too far away Squall was talking to Laguna.  
  
"That was a little too close for my tastes," Laguna said, a carefree smile on his face as always, "But we made it, didn't we? No need to look down about it, alright Squall?" He looked over and put a hand on the young SeeD's shoulder, trying to get him to perk up.  
  
"Irvine, Selphie, Quistis . . . they all-"  
  
"They are all proud of you son. They would be happy for you, happy for us. They did a very brave thing fighting along side you" Laguna interrupted Squall.  
  
"Yeah, you're right." Squall sighed relief at the departure of the death, and just wanted to settle down, "Where's Rinoa?"  
  
Rinoa had strayed away from the celebration and was surveying the toll their battle had caused. All her friends, Squall, Seifer . . . it was overwhelming to deal with it in just one day. While wandering around, she noticed Cloud, laid back against a rock, hiding himself from the others. She approached him slowly, thinking he was probably doing the same as she was, except thinking about Tifa.  
  
"Cloud?" she stammered, "Sorry to bother you-"  
  
Cloud suddenly jerked his head around and stood up.  
  
"What's wrong Cloud?" Rinoa said as she backed away at the quick movements of her new friend. He stared back at her, motionless and without saying a word. His eyes were locked on hers, causing her to look down to the ground to avert his uncomfortable gaze. "I'm sorry if I did anything, I just wanted to talk with you, okay?" Cloud didn't talk and when she looked back up, he was nowhere to be seen, "You're not gonna say anything?"  
  
Thinking he had hidden himself again, she turned around and started to walk towards everyone else. Her gaze suddenly met Cloud's, and then the luminescent Ultima Weapon as it was stabbed straight through her body, "Cloud. wha-" he removed the sword and ran it through her chest once again. Rinoa could only look up at Cloud, shear terror filling her eyes as blood filled her lungs. Before she could say anything else or scream for help, he stabbed his god-slayer weapon further through Rinoa's body to silence her. The sword broke the tender flesh on her abdomen effortlessly, blood trickling down the sword to soak the ground behind her.  
  
The frantic Rinoa raised her hand to push on Cloud's chest, "Cloud, why?"  
  
Cloud failed to answer her last request and slowly withdrew his sword as her body became limp and lifeless. Elegantly he took the sword and moved it in a dance of motion, spraying the excess blood onto the ground. It looked like he had never used it before, as though he was testing out its boundaries. A cold liquid feeling on his hands caused him to look down on Rinoa's unmoving form. Cloud's clothes and arms were covered in her blood when she pleaded with him to remove the sword.  
  
Sneering, he jammed the bloodstained sword in the ground and commenced to drag the body of Squall's loved one behind a small rock formation out of sight of the others. Barret, who had been coming to get Cloud, had seen the whole thing and gasped as a stream of blood flowed from her body and over his pale arm.  
  
"Cloud!" Barret exclaimed with fear, "What happened?"  
  
Cloud looked down at this friend villainously, his left eye ticking as the hated within took hold. He heeded Barret's yell, dropping the body and walking in the direction to meet him. The giant of a man gaped in horror when Cloud pulled the Ultima Weapon sword out of the ground and brought it to attack his own friend. Barret raised his healed gun-arm to prevent the attack but Cloud was too fast and sliced through the dense metal of the Missing Score, exposing all types of gears and electrical equipment that had been incased inside. As all good swordsmen do, he capitalized on his enemy's sudden shock and ran the blood coated sword straight through Barret's open chest. The impact of the sword pinned Barret to the ground, leaving him helpless to the whim of this dark and devious Cloud.  
  
"Spiky haired punk," Barret wheezed as he fell to the ground, grabbing for Cloud's throat before giving in to the pain. The wide nature of the sword had cut through most of his vital organs, injuring him fatally. His strength faded and he let his body collapse. Cloud propped his foot against Barret's thick chest and pulled the sword out, and with one swift stroke decapitated Barret. He dragged the body while kicking the head of the former Avalanche member behind the same rock that hid Rinoa.  
  
Squall approached Cloud defenselessly, not seeing what had just happened to Rinoa and Barret. When he got closer, he noticed the blood that was covering Cloud's SOLDIER uniform. It was more blood that could have came from an injury, and the weapon he held in his hand was covered and dripping with it. Cloud looked at him and just smiled. He was different. This new Cloud gazed at Squall with a devilish smirk and almost glazed over eyes. His hair was a lighter color of blonde too, bordering silver in comparison to his own color. With a simple move of his hand, Cloud almost cockily drew a couple stray strands of hair to the left side of his face, moving them out of his sight. The eyes he looked at Squall with were no longer his own. They were bluer, brighter, like the blue hue of a being that had been born OF Mako, and not just infused with it.  
  
Squall had seen this look before; he had been through this same event what seemed like an eternity ago. As he realized who it was and what was happening, his heart almost stopped . . . Nothing had changed at all. 


	12. Judgment

Chapter 12: Judgment  
  
"Sephiroth," Squall said bitterly, lowering his head.  
  
"It took you quite long to find out . . ." Sephiroth said through Cloud, a condescending tone in his voice, "Cloud is a part of me now. You can destroy me if you want, but doing so will cause your friend's death."  
  
"Damn you!" Squall fumed, clenching his fists tightly. The others still had not noticed where he had gone off to, leaving Squall in a very uneven situation. Stalling for time, he kept asking questions, "How? How did you get into his body?"  
  
"Mako flows through his veins, just like mine. Our bodies are infused with the substance. Over time I have learned to manipulate it . . . command its will. You could say he is part of me, an extension of my body. He does my biding, without question . . ." Sephiroth continued, watching Squall's face suddenly contort in anger and sadness,  
  
"Cloud! Don't let him do this! FIGHT IT!" Squall screamed.  
  
A soft chuckle came from Cloud, "It's no use. Your friend is gone, just like your beloved Rinoa . . ."  
  
The leader of this whole operation arched his head back, his eyes widened and a tear fell down his cheek. "Rinoa . . . ." he mouthed. Cloud threw a blue piece of cloth to the ground, covered in blood as evidence of the deed, "No . . ." Squall shook his head, " it's not possible!"  
  
"Believe it . . . and you're next." With lightning quick reflexes Cloud launched his body forward, smacking Squall's sword away to the side with his bare hand and kneeing him hard in the diaphragm. Bones snapped as his knee slammed hard into Squall's stomach, knocking the wind out of him and breaking ribs as the possessed Cloud whispered in his ear, "After your friends that is . . ."  
  
Squall grimaced, his jaw clenching and hands covering his stomach as the muscles spasmed and painfully knotted. He fell to the ground, his eyes tearing out of both pain and angst, the thought of betrayal fogging his conscious. He inhaled frantically for air, grabbing Cloud's leg in an effort to contain Sephiroth's terror. It was easily kicked away, and returned with a sadistic smile. He could only tilt his head and watch as the possessed Cloud walked into the group of his friends, and unleashed his fury.  
  
The Ultima Weapon sliced through the ground in an upward motion, churning dirt and cutting Cid across the chest as it knocked away his mighty Venus Gospel. The others looked on shocked, backing away as Cloud swung in a wide arc, barely missing Laguna. "Cloud! What the hell is going on!" he yelled. He got no response, merely a cold stare. A silver flash wrapped around his attacker's body for an instant before carrying on with his attack again, "He's lost it! Something's wrong! Don't let him near you!!" The president of Esthar ordered as everybody remaining scrambled. Laguna blasted away at the SOLDIER, trying to impede his movement. His gun barrel heated up fast as the spray of bullets scattered worthlessly into the ground, some sort of shield on Cloud completely nullifying their effect. He pumped an endless streak of metal and gunpowder into the target but it had no effect. Vincent locked and loaded his massive shotgun and unloaded it in his side, a cloud of smoke blasting over Cloud as the powerful shot blew his body backwards. It angered Sephiroth's shell as it slid to a halt across the loose gravel and sand.  
  
"You shouldn't have done that . . ." Cloud retorted, his eyes locked and head tilted down towards the former Turk.  
  
"Shut up," Vincent replied, reloading the rounds of his Death Penalty and taking another shot at his once leader. The second shot seethed through the shield, ripping away its effectiveness. The gun smoked and cooled as Vincent confidently strode forward, his aim locked on Cloud's chest. He cocked the gun once more and pulled the trigger and the bullet roared out of the barrel. It stopped halfway to its target and just floated in midair. Sephiroth's power was controlling it. He could see it spinning in the air, hell bent on tearing a chunk out of Cloud's body, but Sephiroth wouldn't allow it. The round suddenly fell to the ground, spent, and Cloud slashed his sword toward Vincent, creating a nasty gale that blew the gun and his body through the air. His evil knew no bounds. Cloud was determined to kill now.  
  
As the dust settled, Cloud's body reappeared on the battlefield, leaving himself and Laguna the only ones able to fight. Bullets screamed through the air again, pelting the weakening shield and raising a mist of dust around Cloud. His body disappeared with the smoke, then reappeared shortly after, completely side stepping the ex-Galbadian soldier's volley. In an act of mad speed, he teleported his body directly in front of the gun and grabbed hold of the barrel. With a swift kick to the shoulder, the gun was flipped and aimed right back at Laguna. With the same, cold and joyless glare, Cloud pulled the trigger and sent a hailstorm of fiery ammunition through Laguna's body. His insides lit up and exploded through his back. The man with the long black hair teared up, putting his hand on the shoulder of his foe before slumping to the ground dead.  
  
"NO!!!" Cid screamed as he swung his weapon over his head and brought it against Cloud's face. The impact snapped his neck and sliced a gash out of his cheek, sending his body careening to the side from the force. Cloud's body slid across the ground, accumulating a mound of dirt in front of it as it came to a stop.  
  
Squall smiled, feeling strong enough to stand again as Cloud's body lay broken behind Cid. Vincent had just recovered and immediately came to the aid of the pilot when he fell to his knees in pain, "Did I get him?"  
  
"Yeah, he's down for the count," Vincent said, looking back over to the fallen corpse of their good friend. But it was gone.  
  
"Oh no," the bruised, bloody visage of Cloud stared right into Vincent's as he turned around. His hands were positioned at the vampire-looking man's stomach, quickly manipulating the winds and shocking Vincent with a focused blast of air. He flew back, out of control, leaving Cid completely helpless to Cloud's next assault.  
  
He was a monster now, his jaw hanging on by a few sinews and neck covered in disgustingly black blood. Cloud's hair was matted down and a mess, and his clothes were ripped and barely hanging off his body. He grabbed Cid's neck, lifting his body high off the ground and started to choke him.  
  
The captain's neck was being crushed by his own friend's hand. It was beginning to get hard for him to breathe. His eyes rolled back into his head and he began to pass out, everything that had happened this day going through mind. It was a sad turn of events, a horrible, cruel joke being played on him and all the others that had given their lives this day. Friends dying for no reason . . . the dead coming back to life . . . friends killing friends . . . with that he screamed and exploded with unrivaled rage, punching Cloud in the face multiple times, putting all his remaining strength in the blows. But all he managed to do was mangle Cloud's nose and cause extra blood to spew from his mouth and eyes. Cid's former friend sneered and threw him high into the sky above him. He quickly reached for the Venus Gospel that lay on the ground and got it firmly in his grasp. Without hesitation, Cloud cocked back his arm and launched it at the falling Cid. The projectile weapon ensnared its target and carried Cid backwards in an arc, falling to the ground far away and crushing his body into a boulder. It hit the stone with such intensity that the spearhead ripped through the body of the old man and shredded his lungs. Stuck against the rock, he did all he could to get free, even though his death was assured.  
  
"What the hell?" a waning Cid said as he grabbed the Gospel as hard as he could. The weapon wouldn't budge no matter what he did, but Cid wouldn't give up no matter what. His hands tightly grabbed the pole of the spear, even as they grew cold and useless, "Shit," he mouthed as his last breath passed through his lips. Cid's head fell forward, blood dripping from his lips.  
  
Cloud/Sephiroth saw his next opponent. The red cape that the Turk had always worn had been cast aside and glided in the wind to the ground. Soon after the red headband was stretched past his hair and thrown away too. Squall struggled painfully with his lower torso to get up. He HAD to help out Vincent. There was no way he could do it on his own! Squall managed to prop his arm on his knees, but extreme pain quickly answered his reckless action, 'My ribs must be broken,' Squall thought. That position would have to do.  
  
Sephiroth's fury knew no boundary. The fire within Cloud started to build as he prepared himself for the next confrontation. Blue and purple flames spit out of the wannabe SOLDIER's wounds as Sephiroth pulled everything he had into this beaten body.  
  
Vincent's arms grew larger under his black shirt, along with the muscles in his legs too. The clothes on his body stretched and ripped apart, his skin dying and becoming a steel grey as massive demon-like wings sprang from his back, blood showering from their veined surface. His eyes became white as the moon, shining with hatred and sorrow. The hair on his beautiful head fell out, and razor sharp claws tore through his hands as extensions to his body. The power of Chaos was his to control, the burden of the curse no more.  
  
"Chaos!" Cloud shouted in surprise.  
  
Vincent screamed at the top of his lungs when he saw the Devil clad in Cloud's skin getting close, his scaled wings tore farther through his flesh with a horrendous crunch. It was no longer painful for him. No, it was a showing of his grandeur as the fully opened wings spanned ten feet in each direction. Soon after his wings had dried, his skin faded into a deeper death-gray like color and his black, tortured eyes rolled back into his head. The color returned once more . . . but this time his eyes seemed to vary with his current mood. The red tint of anger shone from Vincent's eye sockets as they opened ever so wider to embrace the surroundings.  
  
Squall gazed intently, horrified at seeing such a demonic transformation. He knew not whether his help was needed or if the beast would come after him when this battle was completed. He had witnessed Vincent turn into a dreadful, dark beast named Chaos, and knew that if there was a hope of victory, it lay with him. The young leader was unhindered, and inched his way closer and closer as the final battle was about to begin.  
  
Flapping his wings, Chaos soared above Cloud, taunting him. In the air his speed was unmatched. He dove down, closing his wings and blowing faster than the wind across Cloud's body. Moments later he appeared again, hovering and flapping his wings, holding his claws in front of his body so Cloud could see the blood dripping off of them. Through Cloud's eyes, Sephiroth stared at his stomach, seeing that his clothes were completely shredded. He tried to breath but could gather no air. Instead, three gashes appeared, Cloud's skin splitting apart and spewing his insides forth. His intestines spilled into his hands, along with gallons of blood, quickly covering the entire stone surface of the battlefield in front of his body. Chaos then spun around on the path going away from his victim and gathered speed for another pass. This time the demon mounted Sephiroth's host from behind, digging both his hind and front claws into Cloud's back. Reaching over the SOLDIER's shoulders, he impaled his claws through his friend's armor and began to rip the armor apart with his devilish vigor. The red liquid grossly poured out of Cloud like a waterfall. The thick red color and rotting smell would be overwhelming to anyone who wasn't accustomed to death, but this winged demon was the Angel of Death, he lived off of it. The diabolical beast pushed off from the body and let it collapse to the ground, leaving it pale and corpselike. Vincent's inner monster could only roar with delight as Cloud's body lay unmoving on the ground, masked by a sea of blood. The sky echoed with his calls of victory.  
  
Squall got to his feet, now strong enough to walk as Vincent reverted to his human form. It wasn't nearly as painful to him reverting to this primitive state, but it felt very unsettling. His wings shrunk from their majestic span and folded into themselves until they slid back into his shoulders, his skin softening and healing up as soon as they retreated. He had made sure that Cloud was dead, and with him that horrible man by the name of Sephiroth. It haunted Vincent that he had to kill one of his only friends, but what was worse was the thought of Sephiroth being alive and well, wreaking havoc and spreading his evil across time and space. He shook his head shamefully, looking at Cloud's body, asking him silently why he made himself do that to a person he cared about. Vincent's cold exterior warmed for a brief moment, allowing him to feel both grief and to mourn for his comrade. He could have stayed there and given homage all he wanted to his fallen friend, but instead of dwelling on something that was sure to give him more nightmares, he decided to check up on Squall.  
  
Vincent saw the image of the SeeD stumbling towards him and almost laughed. How could someone with so many weaknesses be considered one of the greatest warriors of his dimension? It was just like Cloud .. . it was as though he had stumbled upon it. The path of a hero is never something you desire, it is a role that is placed on you. You have no decision but to accept it. As they walked towards each other, Squall yelled something out, but he was to far away for even Vincent to be able to make it out. Squall used all his energy left in his body to run to Vincent at full speed. He limped and struggled, but Vincent had become haughty from his victory and thought that Squall was rushing to congratulate him, so he stood there with a confused expression on his face. When Squall had jogged close enough he caught his breath and yelled. Vincent noticed that he had a terrified look on his and his own expression shifted and heart sank into the bowels of his soul.  
  
"BEHIND YOU!!!!"  
  
He almost didn't want to turn around. He knew what would be waiting for him, he accepted it. But it is instinct, and Vincent spun around just in time to see a man in ornately decorated black armor and long white hair stand before him. "No," Vincent managed to sputter as he walked slowly backwards away from the long, thin blade that had just been drawn and was racing towards his body. He was defenseless against the man's wrath. The blade's sharpness and the deadly precision cut through the metal on his reconstructed arm like soft wood. Sephiroth was much too fast for him. His arm sparked and spewed hydraulic fluid from its open tubes, drawing Vincent's attention away from his attacker. It was the utter disbelief that such a thing could happen . . . it was impossible . . .  
  
The last slash came as a surprise to the former TURK, who had thought he knew most of the Demi-god's moves from their last fight with him. All Vincent could do was to watch in utter disbelief as Sephiroth feinted to his right and spun back with his Masamune to cleave diagonally through Vincent's helpless body. The torso from the warrior fell to the left, sliding off the lower part of his body with a sickening bubbling sound while his legs fell lifelessly to the ground.  
  
Sephiroth beamed over his kill with a smile, enjoying the look on Squall's face more than anything else. With renewed energy, the SeeD sprinted towards Sephiroth and drew his Lionheart. He sought to sting Sephiroth with a quick slash to his right shoulder, to get retribution for his fallen companions, but his adversary moved the Masamune to meet the opposing blade in midair.  
  
Their swords clashed in a shower of sparks with the initial hit, but the power from Sephiroth was enormous. With a slight shove he forced Squall teetering backwards, off balance.  
  
"BASTARD!" Squall said as he gritted his teeth, "You killed all of them!! ALL OF THEM!!! My friends . . . Rinoa . . .I'LL KILL YOU!"  
  
Sephiroth replied with a smug smile and waved on his opponent. Squall charged at him again, not giving in to the pain that coursed through his veins. His body felt like it would fall apart if he pushed himself any harder, but it just didn't matter anymore . . . nothing did. Sephiroth held out his hand as he approached and blasted the hasty nuisance backwards with a ball Fire from his palm. Squall toppled onto his back, surprised and in a daze.  
  
"You're too late." Sephiroth informed, "I'm beginning to meld with this world. The thoughts of your planet, your friend's memories, the skills and techniques of all your enemies . . . I will become a god once more."  
  
As Sephiroth told this to Squall, he raised his hands upwards and the majestic blue sky faded into dark black. Squall saw the surroundings instantly change as a huge city with eight reactors broke through the ground far off in the distance. Their droning echoing as far as the battlefield as vaporized Mako rose like exhaust. Was that something from Cloud's world?  
  
'Damn it,' Squall thought, knowing that he had failed once again to stop the harsh reality from becoming true once again. Dimension Compression was taking place, and the worlds were merging together. It would all be over soon . . . Lightning jumped from cloud to cloud in an elegant dance of light as if it rejoiced in the damnation of the universe. With his last burst of energy, Squall swung high and hard at Sephiroth. It was easily parried and held to the side.  
  
"You can't destroy that which is forever . . ." Sephiroth sneered as he grabbed a hold of the Lionheart. In less than a blink of an eye, he knocked down the sword and stabbed Squall in the chest with his murderous Masamune. 


	13. Revelations

Chapter 13: Revelations  
  
Squall winced as the sword pierced his chest. This horrible scene was all too familiar to him. He breathed in the thinning air slowly, not knowing if each passing breath would be his last. He looked behind Sephiroth again and saw the collapsed form of Cloud, fell by horrible, gaping wounds. They were inflicted by his friends in hopes that it would free his torn, tattered soul, but in the end all it caused was the death of his mortal body.  
  
Sephiroth looked right into Squall's eyes, enrapturing himself in Squall's pain and at what he had accomplished in such a short amount of time. He had managed to kill both heroes again in the same way he had done before, and history had repeated itself. Cloud and Squall's plan had failed . . . changing only minor details. Dimension Compression was rapidly occurring, being drawn to the focal point of universal disruption, Sephiroth.  
  
Gasping, Squall looked up into his killer's eyes, "Looks like your lapdog isn't going to be joining us, "Squall heaved, speaking of Griever whom he had faced the first time. The success of everyone had greatly weakened the total power given to Sephiroth, but with the final hero clinging to a shred of hope and his own life there was nobody left to stand in his way. It wouldn't stop the brave SeeD leader though . . . Squall fight until his last breath.  
  
The comment he made left a puzzled look on Sephiroth's face, but after a moment's contemplation the tyrant lifted his sword and pointed it at Squall's face, "No more talking nonsense. Die with honor . . . fool," his sword swung swiftly downwards, directly where the shoulder meets the neck.  
  
Squall could feel the blade arching towards him, knowing it would cleave his head clean off. The Masamune fell faster and cut through the air and stopped less than a few inches from Squall's neck. Sephiroth's blade was grasped between Squall's hands, unable to finish the job, "You're going down," Squall said as his brow tightened in anticipation. He looked to Sephiroth with his teeth bared and eyes glowing, his sneer cutting through the evil demi-god's superiority.  
  
Sephiroth clenched his jaw and pushed down harder, but the Masamune wouldn't budge. Squall's muscles bulged as he stood back up and threw back his opponent with great strength. He was shocked, taken aback at the sudden turn of the tide, "Hmph, you think you have what it takes to beat me now?" Sephiroth taunted.  
  
"NO, I won't beat you . . . I WILL DESTROY YOU!" Squall screamed as he stood up defiantly. His bleeding worsened when he staggered forward, but it didn't matter. He tore off his jacket and threw it to the ground, revealing his blood soaked shirt and sliced flesh which still spilled out blood from his chest. Wound. There was renewed power in his stance, defiant to the last. Sephiroth was clearly angered by his comments and grabbed his hilt tighter, the leather bounds squeaking under his grip. But Squall was fearless. He looked on, watching the angel of death dash forward with lightning speed. His eyes flickered aqua blue as he tensed up his entire body, gritting his teeth. Pulling in all his remaining power and delving into deep reserves he never knew he had. Blood flowed faster and faster throughout his entire body, sending a rush of adrenaline to his pain receptors. Squall's hair suddenly flew upwards on its own, flying about without any wind and blew backwards with a flash of lightning far off behind him. The hair on Squall's head whipped around violently, flashing white and then blue. Sephiroth neared even closer, mere seconds away from unleashing his attack. Squall's transformation suddenly quickened and his hair turned silver green, the color of Holy Materia. His body grew stronger, his wounds healing up as new muscles grew all over his body. He threw open his arms as Sephiroth was upon him, screaming at the top of his lungs and knocking back the attacker with merely a show of newfound power.  
  
Looking into Squall's eyes, now sputtering with electricity and jumping over his hair, Sephiroth regained his composure, "M . . . M, Mako? What is the meaning of this!" he glanced over quickly to where Cloud had lain slain, but the corpse was no longer there. The body had vanished into thin air, leaving only one explanation to what had just happened. By the time Sephiroth turned back around, there stood a totally new entity before. He kneeled down, his fists on the ground and head bowed as well. This new warrior, dressed in simple navy pants and a white cloak caused Sephiroth to shiver in both anxiety and fear. Xanien, the ultimate hero, had taken the place of Squall and Cloud. He outstretched his hands, pulling the blades of his former selves into his palm. In one hand, he held the Lionheart, a sword forged from bravery and passion. In the other the Ultima Sword, a weapon with cosmic origins, brought to the world by a giant, living weapon. He brought them together just as last time, and a surge of light radiated from his palms, energy blasting outwards as they merged into one; the Heimdall.  
  
"Sephiroth, I have returned to pass judgment on you. I will punish those that destroy life and purge you from the universe," Xanien mentioned in a cold tone.  
  
"You act as though you are some kind of god," Sephiroth scoffed, growing perturbed by this new being's arrogance "Just because you changed your hair and raised your strength don't even think you are even in the same league as I am!"  
  
"I've had enough of your braggart behavior Sephiroth," Xanien spoke calmly closing his eyes. He raised the Heimdall towards its enemy, "We end this now! Haste . . . times three!" he screamed, a Blue aura instantly surrounding his body. The flow of time poured into Xanien, giving him its speed and swiftness. The pent up energy surged inside him then exploded as he jumped forward. A vortex swirled around his body as he moved in front of Sephiroth, gaining the advantage. Heimdall rang against the Masamune as it was parried aside, and then struck again with Xanien's lightning quick reflexes.  
  
Sephiroth jumped back and quickly sheathed his sword, "So it's come to this . . ." he said, narrowing his eyes as he started to raise his hands towards the sky. His body was totally open to attack, leaving Xanien no choice but to act on instinct. The vengeful hero disappeared from across the vast field and instantaneously reappeared in front of the wicked body of Sephiroth. With a quick slice, the Heimdall cleaved Sephiroth's left arm straight off and it fell from his body, slowly landing on the ground.  
  
"Your tricks won't work anymore" Xanien said without another attack, assured that he had stopped Sephiroth for good.  
  
He was greeted with a cocky smirk as Sephiroth's eyes glowed red. "How weak you really are, thinking I would be defeated that easily!" Sephiroth screamed back, casting a regenerative spell over his body. Having been junctioned to the Black Materia, its potency was multiplied a hundred fold. The radical power of the spell regenerated his arm, his muscles and bone growing back in mere seconds before being covered again by skin, "You will know my power soon enough!" he said while casting a Fire 3 spell between their bodies. A ball of flame flickered momentarily and then exploded into a hellish firestorm, leaving Xanien no choice but to shield himself, "Lunatic Weapon, ARISE!"  
  
In the midst of a hundred thunderclaps and bolts of lightning directly behind Sephiroth, Lunatic Weapon appeared, just as nasty and horrid as before. Leviathan snapped at the air from the left arm screaming in pain while Sapphire Weapon reared its ugly head and began to charge up its deadly beam from the right arm. Diamond Weapon seethed and struggled, opening up its chest and shoulders, trying to blast its way out. Eden composed the backside, the power it contained being siphoned away into the core of this vile creature. The summons which didn't have the size such as Shiva and Ifrit served as joints along the body, their powers drained away even quicker. Finishing up the monster was both the Ruby and Emerald weapons, their bodies contorted and twisted in order to form each leg. At the head of the beast, the energy of the beasts began to collect.  
  
"Luna Nova!" Sephiroth commanded the monster, screaming into the heavens above. The melded Bahamuts all flapped their wings together, bellowing in agony as they tried to free themselves from this hell. The entire mass of monsters slowly raised itself into the atmosphere.  
  
"No!" Xanien screamed out, jumping off the ground and soaring up into the air, " I won't let it happen again!" His sword was held behind him as he flew upwards, ready to strike down the abomination in the sky. With less than a hundred yards to go, a mass of summons saw him and unleashed their painful fury unto him. Golden beams of light shot out from Diamond Weapon's silver exterior, pelting the hero with its horrible power. Raising his arms, Xanien was able to deflect and absorb the shots, but then Emerald Weapon opened its eyes and unleashed four distinct beams downward, converging at the same time against the merged entity. It was too much for him, and his body burned from the heat. He ceased his flight and fell back towards the planet, and the Lunatic Weapon reached the upper atmosphere. The sun peaked over the horizon, above all the darkened clouds below. Dozens of eyes squinted and looked upwards, toward the moon.  
  
From there it unleashed a hell worse than the Big Bang. Each Weapon, summon, and Guardian Force died and released their energies at the same time, collecting it into a beam attack that shot through their exterior. The shaft of light discharged with such intensity that it caused even Sephiroth to shy away and close his eyes. The ray of divine energy burned quickly through the last layer of the atmosphere and impacted against the Moon, tearing a large hole through the middle. Xanien looked on, shaking his head and giving up, falling downward like an asteroid.  
  
After the beam gutted the celestial object, it spilt back into a rainbow of lights, veering away and collecting into a great ball of fire behind the body or lunar rock. It grew wildly and surged until the thin energy membrane binding each light hemorrhaged, spilling out the contents to the moons surface. The power of it all disrupted the orbit around the planet and forced its imminent descent towards the planet. Chunks of the lunar body fell ahead of the moon, burning up as it entered the atmosphere, just as the rotting bodies which composed the Lunatic Weapon were now doing.  
  
Xanien looked up and saw the moon heading towards the planet for a second time, he had to act fast. He dropped to the earth below him, a depression in the ground spider-webbing and creating a crater as he came to stop. Even though his heart dropped in his chest from despair, Xanien would not let this scenario draw out again. He would not just sit around and watch it happen.  
  
"Haste . . ." he breathed, sheathing his sword and outstretching his arms. He pulled in lines of energy, screaming at the top of his lungs as he searched in his body for some forgotten power. His eyes snapped open when it came to him. His memories, his happiness . . . he wanted to see life returned to this planet, things growing, people breathing, his friends smiling . . . The ones that were now dead and had no chance of returning unless he managed a miracle . . . " HASTE TIMES SIX!!!!"  
  
A red aura shot out of the ground around Xanien, blowing out like a geyser and ripping apart the crater, blending with his blue haste aura from before. The purple energy licked around his body like flames, too much for his body to handle. It wanted to escape and leave his body, but somehow he managed to keep it contained. Pushing off the ground, Xanien split the ground apart where he had been standing, a fissure cracking along the crust of the earth. Xanien had become so fast that his body now blurred when he moved. He ran up to Sephiroth, catching him totally off-guard and stunning him with a blast to the face. The impact of his fist on Sephiroth's nose sent a shockwave backwards, stirring up dust and blowing rocks away. The evil man slid along the dirt, still standing but clutching his battered face. He looked up with amazement when Xanien bent his own magical sword around his body. The Heimdall sealed away Sephiroth's movements, keeping him out of the picture while Squall and Cloud got their chance inside the body of Xanien.  
  
Sephiroth gritted his teeth and struggled, trying to bend the weapon off his body but it got him nowhere. The mighty hero Xanien picked up his body, clutching the bent saber and threw him with all his strength in front of the moon. The sky was darkening, but soon lit up again as the lunar surface burned away, creating a red glow over the entire planet. At the current rate of speed, the moon would hit Earth in less than a minute.  
  
Faster than light itself, Xanien appeared on the ground directly beneath the moon's path. He took in an awesome sight, the burning object taking his breath away as he hesitantly watched it fall directly towards him. Now inside the atmosphere, it swallowed up the sky like an eclipse and cast an endless shadow over the vast horizons. Xanien had to close his eyes to blank out all of the chaos around him. Focus was what he needed right now, only then would he have a chance at stopping this event. The ultimate hero had become the planet's new guardian at its greatest time of need.  
  
He began to meditate, concentrating as hard as he could while blocking out everything else, searching for an answer to this looming apocalypse. Neon green particles began to encircle his upper body, creating a beautiful armor around his body. He had the power to stop Sephiroth, but utterly helpless against something such as a falling moon.  
  
"Planet, please give me the power to bring all of this suffering to an end!" He pleaded. He waited for a few seconds, the object of his demise drawing ever closer and got no response. He tried again, trying to communicate with the planet just as Aeris had so long ago and nothing happened once more. In the face of failure, Xanien would not give up, not after coming so far. The moon had to be reversed back into space. "Planet . . . please . . . let me save you."  
  
Xanien's psyche, the combined minds of Cloud and Squall, eagerly sought for the answer as clouds of lunar dust billowed off behind the moon, creating a tail of smoke as it fell faster and faster, being pulled closer by the gravity of the planet..  
  
'Why isn't anything happening?' Cloud asked his other half..  
  
'I don't know,' Squall replied to him, still concentrating from within their combined form 'maybe it doesn't want to be saved . . .'  
  
'No! I won't believe that. There must be something we missed then, something we forgot to do now. Why won't the planet help us?' Cloud screamed inside Xanien's head.  
  
'We both want to help . . .' they thought in unison. In that brief second of unity, their souls combined and the universe seemed to open up to them. Their sudden passion and need to succeed brought them in touch with the planet. They suddenly understood all the answers to the questions that had plagued man for so long. They saw the start of their own universe, and countless other dimensions that were parallel to their own. They saw the past, present, and future as though it were one . . . and suddenly everything was clear to them. They saw the birth of gods, and the war they brought upon themselves. They saw their children, man, spread across the heavens and grow, unaware of each other's existence. They thought they had been alone all this time, but now . . . suddenly their visions cut off, and Xanien opened his eyes.  
  
'It has begun,' the voice calmly said, embedding its words deep inside their beings.  
  
Green energy started to spill out of the ground around the feet of Xanien, slowly at first but then much faster. His body stood silently in the wake of the moon and began to absorb the energy flowing directly from the planet. It swirled all around him, creating a cloud of green mist that was poured all over his body. The moon was seconds away from obliterating all life on the planet and Xanien had still not yet made his move.  
  
"Just a few seconds more . . ." he anxiously breathed. He could feel the warm substance all around him, comforting his wounds and his body with a green light, "Come on . . . Come ON!"  
  
A small burst of power came from Xanien as he concentrated even harder, his will pulling him into the ground, creating a depression right beneath his feet. The green energy had stopped flowing around Xanien and now converged entirely into his body. Green pillars of energy launched upwards from the ground, lending their power to the hero and pushing against the moon. With a last thought of how things could turn out if he failed, Xanien balled his hands into a fist and shut his eyes. The moon and Earth pulled on each other, a vortex from the extreme gravity pulling chunks of rock off the surface of both, turning them into projectiles and throwing them everywhere. The ethereal pillars spread across the lunar surface, pushing against it with all it had, and when he felt it to be right, the hero opened his eyes and the energy gathered into his open palms. Pure energy flowed out of his hands in a thunderous avalanche of light and shot upwards, blasting apart layers of the moon. Screaming, Xanien braced himself for the fight of his life and let it all go.  
  
Somewhere in the upper atmosphere  
  
A scream echoed through the sky like a passing thunderclap. Sephiroth struggled to free himself from his bindings, knowing he would break free soon enough. He wasn't so much as worried as he was angry that he had let this happen. With a final effort he turned his hands towards the Heimdall and cast a Freeze spell over it. The molecules of the blade quickly tightened and the weapon became brittle. Sephiroth flexed his muscles outward from his body and the sword shattered, sending its pieces out into space, gleaming from the ice as though they were brand new stars.  
  
He looked down towards the planet and saw its color had changed. It suddenly glowed, shining with a luminescent green which seemed to radiate from all directions . . . and this unnerved him. The moon had long ago passed Sephiroth and was far underneath his current position. Powder sprayed outward in a storm cloud of white dust, and cracks sprung up around the surface of the moon. It looked as though it was impacting on the surface, yet the Earth remained completely intact.  
  
"No! He couldn't!" Sephiroth shouted as the green energy centered itself under the moon. His rage exploded and he flew towards the action as fast as he could, trying to stop what he knew would happen if he didn't.  
  
On the Ground  
  
"NOW!!" Xanien yelled. His cry echoing over the moon with sound waves now infused with the green life energy of the planet. His voice bounced back to the ground, hitting the earth and shattering the crust of the planet much as a quake would. More and more energy poured from his hands, he raised them upwards in the same fashion Sephiroth had done many times before and shot out a massive beam of green energy. It collided with the moon and the unbridled energy swelled around the front side of the lunar body, slowing it down, but the moon's shear kinetic energy kept it hurtling downward onto Xanien.  
  
"AAAHHHHH!!!!!" Xanien screamed as he drained all remaining energy given to him by the planet from his body. The ground around him broke apart as he dug his feet in, and his final blast broke his arms. He was unable to stand the recoil of his actions as a tsunami of Lifestream shout out of his hands. The moon was stopping and moving backwards, but it needed just one more push to send it away. His body was broken and weak, but Xanien knew he had the ability to do it. If his physical body couldn't do it . . . then he'd will it to happen.  
  
All the energy from the planet beamed through him, using his body as a medium as it was transformed it into a destructive wave. It flowed through him, concentrated Lifestream, filling his mind with the thoughts of the planet. The thoughts of ancient people long gone, the memories of loved ones trying to hold onto their mortality . . . Their hopes, their dreams flowed through Xanien. He shot his chest forward and endless streams of energy came out of it, enveloping the moon and giving him complete control of it.  
  
"To Sephiroth," sweat fell from his forehead as he felt the weight of a world on his hands. He pulled one of his broken arm backwards in pain, "and to the settling of everything!" Xanien cried out as he thrust the celestial body back towards its sender.  
  
Not to far above, Sephiroth saw the moon coming back at him with twice the speed that it had fallen.  
  
"No," Sephiroth took the black materia out of his armor and gleefully stared into its empty light. He would not be beaten a second time, he would return to his place in the heavens. His body began to mutate, his right arm changing into blood-red wing as a distant star flickered off in the distance. Meteor was cast, and the rock blazed through the solar system, ripping apart Jupiter and Saturn as it re-directed itself to Earth instead of the Sun.  
  
Watching the two gas giants explode in cosmic eruptions, Xanien flew out of the deepening fissure of the planet, and came up behind the roaring mass of the moon. He watched the moon get bigger the faster he flew towards it and right before he was upon it, Xanien readied his fist, holding it backwards to build up power. His right arm shone red and green with the power from the planet, swirling around his fingers. The moon was about to pass through the atmosphere once again when Xanien punched it. It was pounded with such incredible force that it almost broke in half, instead creating a sonic boom that spread around the whole planet and rumbled through the mountains.  
  
Sephiroth heard that noise and instead of gleefully watching Meteor, he turned around and saw a hunk of rock five times that size aimed right at him. Sephiroth also saw the upper atmosphere around the planet rumble. It shook violently as the moon sent waves of air from the exit point to encompass the globe. His mouth dropped as he stared death in the eye, and his body tightened, expecting the impact. The wicked man managed a nervous laugh as both rocks approached him. On one side a burning fusion of metal, ice and rock, and on the other, the moon. He had faced death before and overcome its adversity, but he knew that there would be no coming back from it this time.  
  
"So this is how it ends, hmph,"  
  
The moon slammed into Sephiroth and carried his body along with it into outer space. Meteor slammed into the moon seconds afterward, sending the upper layer of rock shattering in all directions. Both exploded outwards across the ozone layer, a bright orange fire covering them as they broke upon themselves like water against stone. 


	14. Epilogue

Epilogue:  
  
The moon and Meteor both reached their critical points soon after they collided, tearing each other apart with brutal ferocity. Their cores cracked and fissured, spilling rock outward in every direction. Meteor was devastated and thrown across the planet's atmosphere, its small pieces flowing around the moon as it continued to sail towards the deep reaches of space. Particles of stone and metal screeched downwards, the planet's gravitational pulling them in until the heavens were aglow with its red hot snow. The sky shone pink with falling debris, each piece burned up harmlessly and turning to ash before touching the ground.  
  
Xanien looked onward, breathing a sigh of relief as the sky returned to normal and the sun's rays coated the planet's surface. Slowly the darkness left and the soft white clouds returned to untumultuous skies. He looked around, seeing delicate flurries of light coat the ground, and then suddenly, a solitary flower bloomed at his toes. The hero reached down, gently touching the silky leaves of the plant and cried. He had done it. It was over . . .  
  
Xanien fell onto his back and started laughing hysterically, the tension leaving his body instantly. He closed his eyes and laughed harder, feeling unheard of warmth flow through his veins. Cloud and Squall could see their friends again in their minds, their memories . . . they were all smiling.  
  
From the single flower, life on the planet spread like wildfire. Green exploded all over the ground and then the colors of the rainbow followed on the petals of thousands of flowers. Trees sprung to life, years of growth accumulating on their bark in a matter of seconds. Foliage created shade over the soft soil and then the first cool breeze blew again. Xanien sat up, his eyes spread wide open as a chill ran down his spine. The sight was too much for him . . . the miracle of life.  
  
Far off in the distance, a fountain of green light spread upwards over the horizon and into the sky. Xanien was entranced and was surprised when the pillar shattered and ran along the ground in all directions. The buildings from Cloud's world vaporized, and so did every other sign that it had ever existed. With a thunderous boom, space and time returned to normal. The buildings of Esthar returned, just as shiny and new as before, and the oceans flowed again with clean water. All over the world, things were being returned to the way they were. Xanien's time was done.  
  
"You've done it," the voice commended happily, "return and receive your rewards."  
  
Xanien dematerialized from the rolling plains on which he stood, appearing back in limbo once again. An invisible finger dragged itself over his body, making a line straight through his body. He closed his eyes, the touch putting him at piece. Without pain or strife, the god like entity split apart into his two separate beings: Cloud and Squall. They both opened their eyes to a wonderful sight, darkness. But it wasn't the world that was dark, it was because somebody's warm hands were covering them.  
  
"It can't be . . ." Cloud mouthed, but feeling a warm body press against his back, he knew it to be true. The hands came off and he shouted, twisting around to pick up Tifa, "I thought I had lost you," he continued, holding back a tear.  
  
Tifa was already crying, tears falling from her cheeks as well, "I was thinking the same about you," she said, hugging Cloud tightly. They looked at each other, neither saying a word for a few minutes but their eyes were locked together, deep in thought. Cloud closed his eyes and kissed Tifa on the lips, the raven haired beauty equally reciprocating the feeling as she wrapped her hands around his neck.  
  
Squall and Rinoa's foreheads touched, both standing in each others embrace as they enjoyed a long awaited reunion. "I didn't think it was possible . . . I shouldn't be standing here right now, holding you-"  
  
Rinoa had put her finger to his lips, silencing him, "Don't underestimate the power of miracles."  
  
"I didn't think I would ever see you again, I-"  
  
"You can stop worrying," Rinoa whispered, her arms moving around Squall's waist as she hugged him and placed her head against his chest, "everything is going to be alright."  
  
Squall kept quiet and put his arm around her, his other hand holding her head as they felt each others hearts beat.  
  
Red shook his body back and forth as one would if a dog was wet, but he was doing it to make sure everything was okay. He couldn't believe his luck, and neither could Cid and Vincent. Yuffie was jumping up and down, clutching at Barret who had his hand behind his head and eyes closed, enjoying a hearty laugh. Even Irvine had been given a second chance, wasting no time as he talked to both Quistis and Selphie with his arms around them. They looked at him sternly as he tried cracking a joke and the gunmen felt dejected, but a few seconds later both girls burst out into laughter.  
  
"Your lives were a gift from the planet. You all performed exceptionally well, given the circumstances that you faced. You fought on despite all the odds being against you and triumphed over great evil. I will send you back to your respective homes now and leave you with this message; Enjoy life's everyday miracles and cherish your loved ones to the best of your ability, you'll never know when it will end." The voice spoke to them, one last time.  
  
Irvine was hugging Selphie and Quistis after they had stopped laughing, "Well, I'm glad that you girls are okay. You had me worried." They all cried tears of happiness and Irvine could leave finally feeling like he was the player he wanted to be. Still attached to each other, they departed into their own dimension.  
  
"It was nice working with you Vincent," Laguna yelled across the room where Squall was as he waved goodbye, his back half turned to the former Turk.  
  
"Likewise," Vincent replied coldly. He reluctantly let a corner of his mouth rise, indicating the hint of a smile. Laguna seemed shocked at first, but began to laugh when he saw this. The massive arm of Ward quickly grabbed Laguna's and brought them through the dimensional portal that they had arrived in the first place. People were starting to disappear back to their own times now that everything was returning to normal.  
  
"You go on ahead Tifa, I got something I want to say to Squall," Cloud said, rubbing his love's shoulders. Squall noticed and did the same thing.  
  
"Okay, see you soon!" Rinoa and Tifa said to Squall and Cloud as they walked into different dimensional rips. Once everybody else was gone, Cloud and Squall started to walks towards each other, meeting halfway.  
  
"You know, you're not such a jerk once somebody gets to know you," Cloud joked as he grabbed the SeeD captain's shoulder.  
  
"HA! And you aren't that bad yourself man . . ." Squall laughed, smiling easily once again. They both stood silent there for a few seconds, glancing everywhere but at each other, "Well . . ."  
  
"Have a good life Squall," Cloud interrupted as he extended his hand to Squall, "I know that we didn't get off to a good start but . . ." They looked at each other weird for a fleeting moment, both uncomfortable with this type of situation. They had been through so much since the beginning of it all, what was the proper way to say goodbye to someone that was not only a good friend, but a part of you?  
  
"Umm, I am gonna miss you man," Cloud and Squall shook hands for a few moments, and then gave each other an awkward hug afterwards. Their eyes darted around quickly after that, making sure that no one was left and looking.  
  
"Me too buddy, Me too," Squall said as he tiptoed backwards. He turned around and walked, grinning and waving while he slipped slowly away from view into a portal.  
  
Cloud was alone now, and he knew that he was next. He was the final one to go. Time rippled before his eyes and fluctuated, creating a puddle in space but he didn't walk through it, at least not yet, "Wait, before I go I want to see who you are," he asked. There was something familiar about the voice, something calming. How it spoke to him filled his heart and urged him on, even at the darkest moments of the trials. There was a deep, long silence as the entity contemplated this request. Cloud awaited an answer, he was willing to stay for eternity in order to find out if his thoughts were right or not.  
  
"Very well," the voice answered in an apprehensive tone.  
  
An accumulation of clouds began to circle around a solitary cloud above the golden-haired hero and build in length and mass. Pulsating greenish white light shone downwards from the middle and split the puffs of white apart. An angel floated gracefully down form above, its wings outstretched but unmoving, being carried by the light. A white aura around her constricted his view but he was able to make out a few of her more distinct features. The angel had glistening, bright white wings that dripped with dew and long, brown hair that curled ever so slightly at the tips. Cloud could only see her from behind at the moment, but as the anticipation built, his heart raced inside his chest.  
  
He moved his lips but nothing came out. On his second try, he barely managed, "What's your name?" Cloud questioned her in a tone that a child would ask a friendly stranger.  
  
But this was no stranger . . .  
  
She turned around ever so slowly, revealing the rest of the features that she was composed of. Her head was looking down at the ground but Cloud could see the outline of it. His eyes swelled with tears when he caught the delicate features of her beautiful face. It was a face that Cloud had dreamt about every night since she had left him, the one that had caused him many nightmares, but at the same time brought him hope. Her soft cheekbones and parted lips, her dainty structure, her soothing aquamarine eyes, it was . . .  
  
"Aeris," she said blankly into his weakened stature, "I was known as Aeris at one time in my life."  
  
As though something had awakened inside both of them, they stared deeply into each other's eyes. He was looking for her soul, to somehow try to save it, and she was looking for a way to say farewell to him. Cloud gulped and never took his eyes off her, even as he started to fade from the heavenly place. Someone once told him that life is not a product of time, but rather of moments. If he could have chosen any moment to live in, it would be this one. But moments do not last forever . . .  
  
"Come with me!" he pleaded, holding out his hand like she had done for him.  
  
She winced and closed her eyes, so tempted to do the same, but she couldn't. "Goodbye Cloud," Aeris said hurtfully, turning away from him.  
  
"I love you," Cloud said, almost mouthing it with a heavy heart in tow. His comment forced a solitary tear to surrender from her eye and fall down her cheek, dripping down into nothingness.  
  
She waved her hand without facing the direction of Cloud and finished transporting him back to his own time. As he was disappearing, she turned back around and smiled. She wanted to be with him again, to join him again in his adventures, but how could she tell Cloud? How could Aeris bring herself to reveal the secret . . . that it had been her own hands that had brought Sephiroth back to life and caused the Time Compression?  
  
THE END? 


End file.
